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The Caller

  • 1987
  • R
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith Osborne in The Caller (1987)
Suspense MysteryMysterySci-FiThriller

A woman, living in an isolated cabin, lets a mysterious stranger in to make a phone call. They begin a strange mind game with unimaginably high stakes.A woman, living in an isolated cabin, lets a mysterious stranger in to make a phone call. They begin a strange mind game with unimaginably high stakes.A woman, living in an isolated cabin, lets a mysterious stranger in to make a phone call. They begin a strange mind game with unimaginably high stakes.

  • Director
    • Arthur Allan Seidelman
  • Writer
    • Michael Sloan
  • Stars
    • Malcolm McDowell
    • Madolyn Smith Osborne
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    1.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Arthur Allan Seidelman
    • Writer
      • Michael Sloan
    • Stars
      • Malcolm McDowell
      • Madolyn Smith Osborne
    • 34User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

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    Malcolm McDowell
    Malcolm McDowell
    • The Caller
    Madolyn Smith Osborne
    Madolyn Smith Osborne
    • The Girl
    • (as Madolyn Smith)
    • Director
      • Arthur Allan Seidelman
    • Writer
      • Michael Sloan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews34

    6.11.9K
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    Featured reviews

    7jordondave-28085

    A two people performace of Madolyn Smith and Malcolm McDowell

    (1987) The Caller PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER/ SCIENCE-FICTION

    It opens with the Madolyn Smith character leaving with some money to the gas station attendant after filling the range rover up with gas. And when she leaves the gas station, someone's hand is seen grabbing money after she has left. And by the time she comes home, which happens to be a cottage in the middle of the nowhere, someone appears to be watching her. Bringing packages in, one of the odd packages she brings inside is a hat box that has something dripping at the bottom. She first makes a call to her daughter and as soon as someone knocks on her door, it happens to be the character played by Malcolm McDowell, telling her that he has a flat and wanting to use her telephone. At first, she is reluctant since she says she is expecting somebody to show up for dinner as it was in the middle of the night. And it was at this point the mind games begins when both the Madolyn Smith and the Malcolm McDowell characters begin questioning one another's motives and making suggestions the person may have or might have done, ending with a twist the reason the movie is called "the Caller", and it is not what one would think.

    A two person performance of Madolyn Smith and Malcolm McDowell as one is attempting to figure out the other from one day after the next. The ending rivals to anything from the "Twilight Zone" which requires some thought.
    6tcamyuntoldartist

    It's one of THOSE...

    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.
    6setbro72

    Suspense Like You Will Never Know

    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.
    7saccenti

    A chilling movie where nothing is what it seems

    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.
    6stills-6

    Brilliant script cheapened by ending

    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.

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    Related interests

    James Stewart in Rear Window (1954)
    Suspense Mystery
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      About 39 minutes in The Caller, Malcolm McDowell, makes reference to Jack the Ripper. He played H.G. Wells in the film Time After Time (1979) where he pursued Jack the Ripper who uses H.G. Wells' time machine to escape the time period 1893.
    • Goofs
      Madolyn Smith said she took a wheel from the 'T'-Bird to replace the one on her Land Rover, but it would not have fitted. T bird wheels had a fitment of 5 x 4.5" x 1/2" stud. Land Rover's have 5 x 6.5 x M14 or M16 stud.
    • Connections
      Featured in Best of the Worst: Back in Action vs. Enemy Territory (2023)

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    FAQ15

    • How long is The Caller?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 18, 1987 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El visitante
    • Filming locations
      • Empire Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • Altar Productions
      • Empire Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 37m(97 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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