The defence The Cool Ironist
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
When a Stranger Calls
Horror · Thriller · 1979
A student babysitter has her evening disturbed when the phone rings. So begins a series of increasingly terrifying and threatening calls that lead to a shocking revelation.
Movie details
When a Stranger Calls
“Every babysitter's nightmare becomes real...”
1979 Horror · Thriller 1h 37m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
A student babysitter has her evening disturbed when the phone rings. So begins a series of increasingly terrifying and threatening calls that lead to a shocking revelation.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over When a Stranger Calls?
For the defence
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Night Shift
Horror · 2023
A young woman working her first night shift at a remote motel begins to suspect that she is being followed by a dangerous character from her past. As the night progresses and increasingly supernatural events occur, she quickly finds out that nothing is what it appears to be.
Play Dead
Horror · 2022
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.
Whisper
Horror · 2007
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Unsane
Horror · 2018
A woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear.
Night of the Reaper
Horror · 2025
A college student returns home for the weekend and reluctantly takes a babysitting job after a local babysitter is brutally murdered. When the town’s sheriff receives chilling evidence that the killing wasn’t an isolated incident, a deadly night unfolds as a masked killer sets the stage for another attack.
Fright
Horror · 1971
Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have Amanda's nerves on edge. The real terror begins, however, when the child's biological father appears after recently escaping from a nearby mental institution.
Dead of Winter
Horror · 1987
A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
Countdown
Horror · 2019
A young nurse downloads an app that tells her she only has three days to live. With time ticking away and a mysterious figure haunting her, she must find a way to save her life before time runs out.
The Deliverance
Horror · 2024
Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.
Insidious: Out of the Further
Horror · 2026
Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in, discovers she can travel into The Further, where she possesses an ability to bring what lives there back to the real world.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Fred Walton
Written by
Steve Feke · Fred Walton
Carol Kane
Jill Johnson
Charles Durning
John Clifford
Colleen Dewhurst
Tracy
Tony Beckley
Curt Duncan
Rutanya Alda
Mrs. Mandrakis
Carmen Argenziano
Dr. Mandrakis
K
Kirsten Larkin
Nancy
Court is in session
Put When a Stranger Calls on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.