When a Stranger Calls

Plot synopsis:
On one side of town, a babysitter and the kids she is babysitting are brutally murdered. The police find that the murderer used his bare hands to tear them to shreds. The shot then changes to teenager Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle), who is going through a teenage crisis, having her boyfriend, Bobby (Brian Geraghty) cheat on her with her best friend Tiffany (Katie Cassidy) and going over 800 minutes on her cell phone, for which her dad, Ben (Clark Gregg), has her babysit for a wealthy family to pay out the debt. The unfortunate timing causes Jill to miss out on a school bonfire which her other best friend, Scarlett (Tessa Thompson) is attending. Jill arrives at the elaborate Mandrakis House in Elan Valley, which has a greenhouse built in the center. It houses many birds and has a pool containing several fishes. The parents (Derek de Lint and Kate Jennings Grant) show her around and tell her about their live-in housemaid Rosa Ramirez (Rosine Ace Hatem). Mrs. Mandrakis then gives Jill their numbers, stating that they won't be back until midnight. As the kids (Arthur Young and Madeline Carroll) are seen to be upstairs asleep, Jill soon begins to receive anonymous phone calls.
Tiffany visits but Jill, but Jill, fearing in getting into further trouble, asks her to leave. However, a tree branch, knocked down by the storm outside, block the road near the gate. When Tiffany gets out to move the broken branch, she is apparently attacked by an unknown figure. The calls continue, each one becoming more alarming, suggesting she is being watched. Jill calls the police, who tell her they can trace the calls if she is able to keep him on the line for one minute. While waiting for the phone to ring, Jill sees a shadow moving in the guesthouse. She goes there to investigate, but finds that the guest house is empty. After seeing a light switch on in the house, Jill quickly makes her way back to the main house. She then starts upstairs toward the maid's room when the phone rings again. The unknown stalker continues to remain quiet on the other end as Jill tries to keep him talking for 60 seconds so the call can be traced by the police. As Jill opens the door to the maid's room, where she hears the shower running, she asks the man on the phone "What do you want?!". He replies "Your blood.....all over me" As Jill hangs up instantly, the police call back right away telling her that the calls are coming from inside the house. The phone disconnects as Jill hears another phone ringing in the bathroom. She turns and finds Tiffany dead on the bathroom floor with her cell phone right next to her. Jill shrieks with terror to see her friend dead.
As Jill collects the Mandrakis children, she looks up to see the stranger looking down at her from the loft. Jill and the children run into the greenhouse. Jill discovers the housemaid Rosa dead inside the pool as the attacker breaks in. They quickly escape and Jill manages to lock the man inside the greenhouse, but he finds another way out and attacks her. During the ensuing struggle, Jill manages to burn the man's back with the fireplace and then stab him in the hand with an iron fireplace poker, before rushing out of the house into the arms of a Elan Valley police officer.
As the injured stranger is taken by the police, his face is shown by the moonlight staring at her. While recuperating, Jill awakens in the hospital and the phone rings. She lets it ring, worrying that the horrific events will reoccur. She waits for a time and leaves the phone ringing, the camera pans to her reflection in the mirror, revealing the stranger to be behind her. The man grabs Jill, who shrieks hysterically, waking up from her hallucination and finding herself still in the hospital. The film ends with the doctors and her dad desperately trying to stop her frantic panicking, while the screen fades to black and the movie ends.

Tags: cult, neo noir, murder

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