The Caller

I debated on getting this one for a while, but finally, just gave in and got it. And I thought it was a really cool movie, though the ending was sort of tough to swallow.

Madolyn Smith plays a young woman staying at a cabin in the woods, and one night, a man comes to her door asking to use the phone. Yet, you know he has been watching her for quite some time, so the scenes between them are tense from then on.

Each day after that, she sees him, and they have these very interesting confrontations. Their interaction--which I am giving nothing away about--is gripping, and sometimes, you wonder which one is really crazy.

When the climax of the movie came, the movie got extremely tense, but then it took this weird twist that, though it was a scary idea, came across sort of dumb. Or at least at first. Once it fleshes out a little more, you will either be sort of lost on what kind of movie this is supposed to be, or you will be quite interested. By the end, I thought the idea was very inventive, though not very fleshed out. But when first revealed, I was ready to forget the 90% of truly scary film. I say, see this movie. It will keep you guessing on what's going on until the end, and I guarantee you'll never suspect it. Overall, a good movie.

Fascinating (and undiscovered) mystery/suspense/ thriller concerns a strange woman and her (even stranger?) guest in an isolated cabin in the woods. That's the entire cast, and basically there is only one set. A chilling movie where nothing is what it seems. You spend the entire film trying to discern who the "villain" is. This sort of thing must have impeccable acting to succeed, and does. McDowell is exquisite, the perfect choice.

Subsequent viewings are also rewarding, but you watch the movie from a complete different perspective. 2 1/2 of 4 stars on a tough scale.

It's one of those movies which is progressively making you question if You are going mad / not clever enough to understand any freakin thing in this picture. Then something happens at the very end, and you go A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-!..!.!...

...and you are probably supposed to re-watch now actually getting the point of every happening and strange set dressings.

Gotta admit the intriguing third "sci-fi" tag made me watching it in the end, and i was right: it is not just an inconsequential "stranger from the street keeps a naive poor soul on her toes for an hour" type of flick.

But don't ask me what type of flick it really is either, because i'm not sure if we are even expected to fully understand what is going on. All i say is, the film sorta hints at the possibility that The Girl is either the last person alive on Earth, or she is one of the handful of "lucky ones" left, being tormented.

I'm yet to re-watch some time, maybe i will be able to rate higher once i saw these two acting the way they do, now in a different light.

Strange, gripping drama for the first 90% of the movie. McDowell plays his character with a weird calm intensity that keeps your eyes glued to him. Madolyn Smith-Osborne, a terrific actress here and someone who I never heard of, plays a woman who looks like she's about to come unhinged at any moment.

Part of the problem with this very dialogue-intense movie is that it builds up to such a dramatic climax that it's impossible to keep it going through any explanation of what's really going on. And the explanation really cheapens things.

What's really great about this movie is the interplay between the two (and only two) characters. In some parts it's brilliant. I wish I had stopped watching some time before Smith-Osborne got all her points, however.

The suspense of this movie made me late for work, when I got to work I discovered everyone else was late due to this movie being so suspenseful! The movie description tells you all you need to know. The end is something you must see only because I did, and it's only fair you do too. Will say this though; I didn't see it coming. There really isn't much more to say and I don't want to spoil this for any of you so I will most certainly not do that. The acting is decent, and the direction is very good so this is not by any means a waste of time. I say that because I know this will be the initial reaction of most people.