The Caller

Plot synopsis:
When troubled divorcee Mary Kee sets up home in her new apartment, she stumbles across an old telephone which she quickly falls in love with. Struck by its antique charm, she gives it a place of pride in her home. Before long, Mary begins to receive strange phone calls from a mysterious, unknown caller. Over time, she discovers that the caller is a woman named Rose, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. However, when Rose claims to be calling from the past, Mary begins to question her new friend's motives.
As Rose's phone calls become ever more disturbing, Mary's sense of terror escalates. Feeling haunted in her own home, she cuts all contact with Rose. Enraged by Mary's betrayal, Rose threatens to exact her terrible revenge. Not on Mary in the present but on Mary as a child in the past. Mary finally realizes that she will have to kill Rose in order to save herself. But how can she kill someone living in the past?
She fails. Rose pours hot grease on the young Mary Kee causing the adult Mary Kee to wretch with her new burn scars. After this Mary Kee tries to kill Rose by inviting her to a birthday party at a bowling alley she knew would catch fire and burn, killing all in it. Rose misses the bus and the plan fails, so Rose has the young Mary talk to the adult Mary on a day that the old Rose attempted to barge in and kill her. Mary coaches the young Mary to break a mirror and use the shards to kill Rose, thus ending the attack and the calls, but Mary's abusive husband, Steven reappears, she asks him to leave or he may be sorry, as he denies to go Mary kills him.

Tags: insanity, revenge, murder, clever

Review:
Especially with the turn the genre took to torture porn ( with saw on the very end of the positive side of the spectrum and films like hostel on the very negative part) i got a bit tired of the whole circus.And then, just when you officially are ready to give up and kill the odd hours with rubber sharks or other pests brought to you by SciFi a movie like the caller comes along.I never gave a 10 rating to any film,but this one does it right, to tell anything about the plot and developments within is a crime.
I totally agree with the other reviewers that say that the film is not your average horror, it draws you in and is very clever and is a very good film of the horror genre without being a total cop out in the slasher come blood guts type, and its the story line that gives it its power, excellent.I know of a lot of this type that do not deliver in the way that you wish, but this film does not operate in the visceral way ,its more of the mind and makes you think more of what comes next, believe me , this film is better than most run of the mill films of this type.horror films and I would recommend it most highly to anyone that appreciates intelligent but not over the top dark, but not total degenerate films of that ilk, I hope this has helped your choice..
i went to see this movie without thinking i was going to be completely engrossed in the film and its complex characters.
in time, strange things begin to happen and the movie takes a scary turn, it becomes extremely suspenseful and scary even though there is a lack of blood and graphic violence.
Slowly, their casual conversations veer toward an ominous direction, and one by one, people around her start dying or disappearing after she tries to cut off contact with the deranged caller.If you have the patience to wait out the first 20 minutes, The Caller is a decent, straightforward mystery and suspense type thriller with reasonable acting and the welcomed absence of any CGI.
I'm tempted to give this movie a 6/10, just because of her, but she was the only good thing in it, really.There are a few times when you're left scratching your head, wondering why the characters are so dumb, but these kinds of thrillers absolutely depend on stupid characters doing things that defy all common sense.
If you liked this movie, I'd suggest checking out 100 Feet, a supernatural thriller featuring an abused wife trying to convince people that she's being haunted by her dead, abusive husband.
An old woman, who seems at first to need help, but ten other developments ensue.Luis Guzman has a good cameo here as sometime maintenance/owner of apartment building she lives in There are twists and turns, the dog, the sudden appearances of sadistic ex-husband (reminds me a bit of "Sleeping with the Enemy" in beginning).
There are no major scares or gore to speak of; it's more a case of inescapable mental torture.If you can put up with your films a little slower than normal and without any action, effects or gore then give it a go - all performances better than your average horror/supernatural flick and a slightly different premise which really works.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/.
The Caller is by no means the greatest horror film, nor is it particularly original but it is quite enjoyable, mainly thanks to the wonderful Rachelle Lefevre, she has graduated to leading lady very well in The Caller, let's hope she gets more leading roles more often, she has a great screen presence and is very nice to watch.The Caller has an interesting premise, newly separated Mary moves into a new apartment to escape the clutches of her douchebag husband, only to be harassed with menacing phone calls from a woman who says she is living in the past, the year 1977 to be exact, this is when the supernatural element pops up and starts to get you thinking.Parts of this movie are really scary, other parts are slightly awkward, but for most of the film I was genuinely interested in the character of Mary and her quest to uncover the truth about the person who is causing the horror in her life, is it her husband?
I just wished the ending lived up to the rest of the movie, which was quite a cut above the usual horror fodder we see of late.Luis Guzman and Stephen Moyer give solid supporting performances too, it's nice not to see old Bill Compton all broody and serious, and Luiz is just awesome no matter what.Impressive enough that I'd watch it again I just wish the ending was different.
The star of "The Caller" is a beguiling, personable young actress named Rachelle Lefevre and her unpretentious acting is one of several things that catapult this little glossed-over gem from the catacombs of third-rate horror.
It is thoroughly engrossing and seriously scary without the blood and gore.I would recommend The Caller to anyone who likes suspense/horror/thriller movies..
The movie is suspenseful, you'll find yourself biting your nails waiting for whats going to happen next, it has ominous music and scenery that will leave you feeling a little unnerved waiting for the next jump scare (that may or may not come), there is a strong tension established early on that continues to build up until you hope for a lighthearted scene to allow you to ease up.
She's brutally psychotic and as the young woman tries to ignore the phone calls things and people begin to change in Lefvre's life because the crazed woman is murdering them in the past.
I've watched a lot of crappy horror movies on Netflix, so when I run into an actual good one, it's a refreshing treat!
Instead, I got pretty much the exact opposite: a cool premise with not only supernatural elements, but a little time-manipulation as well; believable, sympathetic characters, and a fresh take on the usual horror fare.I thought the lead actress, Rachelle Lefevre, did an excellent job conveying the right mix of toughness and vulnerability, given her situation, and it was nice to see Stephen Moyer NOT being a vampire.
Big fan of horror/thriller and this movie actually had me take the time to reset my password so I could write something.
If you like a good thriller, would not call this quite horror, then this will keep your attention and you will enjoy this movie.
Is it a five in the group of all my other fives (or what I would put as a ten on IMDb), probably not but I wanted the overall rating on netflix and IMDb to go up since most people that check the movie won't see this review so if I helped raise the total rating up from the 5.8 it was at now to higher 6.5 or 7 that I think it deserves then some handful of fans that might have otherwise overlooked this gem of a thriller will hopefully enjoy it as much as I did..
This is a solid title, and the only reason I can see someone giving it a low rating is because they were scared or confused.This movie felt very original since I've never seen a particular take on something like this done in film.
I'm biased because I have a soft spot for thrillers involving telephones, mostly due to seeing When a Stranger Calls at a very young and impressionable age, and to keep things interesting the filmmakers must get very creative and when done right it can make for a truly engaging and unique film experience.
If there happens to be any other freaks out there like me obsessed with any and all thrillers or horror movies revolving around phone calls, check this out..
The film begins as a thriller, but develops more towards a superstitious horror movie.
I expected nothing more than an average typical thriller movie but this one kept me intrigued due to the mystery of who the caller is, why she was calling and what she was going to do next.
***SPOILERS*** A lot like the 2000 time traveling movie "Fequency" in the "The Caller" there's this young woman Mary Kee, Rachelle Lefevre, who somehow gets in touch with her past in 1979 through a number of mysterious phone calls from this woman who calls herself Rose,Lorna Raver, who claims that she stole her boyfriend Bobby away from her.
A a bum he is looking for every excuse to get into Mary's apartment to raid the refrigerator for free food & beer which he's too cheap to buy for himself.It's later in the movie that Mary finally realized that this Rosa is holding her hostage as a little girl back in 1979 or 32 years in the past and planning to kill her to keep Mary stealing her just back from the Vietnam War, with serious mental problems, boyfriend Bobby when she grows up!
***SPOILERS**** Mary in checking out old newspaper microfilm in the public library sees that a major fire took place in her neighborhood bowling alley around the time-September 1979-that Rosa is calling her and tries to get her to go there to see her with the excuse of boyfriend Bobby being there so she'll end up being one of the fires many victims.
Like in the movie "Frenquency" this film about changing the past as well as future is a bit too confusing as well as hard to follow.
It in fact does have a somewhat happy ending with both Rosa in the past and Steven in the present getting their comeuppances which is about the only good thing you can say about the film!.
You suspect that the ex-husband is in some way behind the strange phone calls that Mary starts to get from Rose.
You're not sure, because what seems to be happening with Rose is truly bizarre - also possible in a movie.Rose seems to be calling Mary not from another place, but from another time.
It seems to be 1979 (for Rose.) You're forced out of time a little bit right at the beginning of the movie when Mary moves in to her new apartment - and she has a rotary telephone.
It's quite disorienting, and then come these creepy phone calls from a woman claiming to be in 1979, while at the same time you know that there's a very real and present danger in the ex-husband.
The premise is interesting, its creepy at times and Rachelle Lefevre does a good job with Stephen Moyer playing the boyfriend.
There are lots of (obviously placed) red herrings and mind bending aspects to think about regarding changing the future by doing nasty things in the past, and the "sweet "old lady on the phone "Rose" is ultra creepy.
So for a made for TV B-movie its definitely okay.Rachelle Lefevre is Mary, a recent divorcée who after moving into a new apartment begins to receive a series of increasingly harassing phone calls.
At first she thinks its a wrong number (and a sweet old lady) but she comes to realize the voice on the other end of the line is actually calling from the past.This sets up a chain of events with Mary questioning everyone around her; her stalkerish ex-husband, the evasive gardener (Luis Guzman) and ultimately running for her life but (for some reason) still answering the phone.
And then a wrong number mysterious woman (Lorna Raver) starts calling, she realizes there's something strange going on.This is a smaller movie which also stars Stephen Moyer, and Luis Guzmán.
All is fairly normal until Mary starts receiving phone calls from a mysterious woman named Rose (Lorna Raver from Drag Me To Hell).
In this, Rachelle showed range as an actress, and she showed that she could carry a movie.All in all, the acting was surprising solid, and the story (though derivative) had enough little wrinkles to entertain.What I didn't like was the logic, which was absent at times.
lot of good reviews for this movie, i guess i'd like to address the balance.a good psychological horror movie needs carefully built up suspense, this had zero, there was the flimsiest of plots, something about a divorcée and her ex, but that was never explained or elaborated on.Basically, you didn't care about the characters which is a shame because Moyer of True blood fame and Guzman are solid character actors.Director parkhill has barely been in charge of a full length movie and it showed, I don't often quit before the end but I had to here, the general implausibility, plot holes (simply block a number) and lack of ideas was enough for me..
It's an odd story that will captivate you.The scenes with the creepy husband put a bit of a drag on the movie, but I stuck with it.There are other sort of anomalies like why doesn't she have an answering machine instead of having to rely on always answering the phone.
This leads up to the idea that perhaps there was never a time loop, that perhaps Mary's having a psychotic breakdown and imagining what looks like a time warp, and that maybe Mary returned to Rose's apartment (where she was abducted and held as a child) to kill and hide her abusive husband (who has stalked her all the way back to Puerto Rico) in the wall where Rose's victims lay undiscovered!
However, the movie kept me intrigued and it had a lot of unexpected twist that towards the end of the film got very suspenseful and tense for you didn't know what else to expect from the psycho caller from the past.
The user-reviews here made it sound like one of the best horror movies of the year, so as it started to fall apart, I got more and more frustrated with it.
This movie has complex twists and suspense from the FIRST phone call.With the exception of the old style rotary phone that looked like it came from the 50's instead of the late 70's this was a very good tale.I'm still shaking my head trying to figure out what I would do in her place and that, for me, is the mark of a good story.Rachelle did an excellent job of portraying a woman who did not fall apart when hit by seemingly impossible events, in fact, she seemed to have gained strength more and more right up to the very end.To say that this movie kept my attention is an understatement.
Both movies do very well on their own and I suspect that both the producers and writers of each film would be annoyed with anyone that tried to compare them to the other.If you enjoy a good thriller with a lot of suspense, this movie is for you, please DO give it a watch and ENJOY!.
This movie has a genuinely great plot and to my surprise (and disappointment), I see many theories floating around the ending, when it is much clearer and simpler to comprehend.My personal view on the flaws of the movie are the following:  The characters lacked depth, especially for the main actress, Mary, who was a typical young woman, moving in a new apartment.
These may be typical, but I would enjoy the film a lot more.I have rated the movie with 9/10 for its fantastic plot.I shall now hint out the ending and its interpretation:The people Mary met were not ghosts, whose bodies were recovered after years.
This enabled her to engage in a criminal activity without a second thought (something that would never occur, if she had never answered the phone or had not provoked Rose).Even though the matter of how the subsequent calls from the past were achieved (as in how was the past bridged to the present) remained somehow transparent, a theory was still addressed by John, when he drew the curved line of time, with a break point on top, to give Mary an explanation.All in all, this was one of my favorite movies.
a young girl (Mary Kee) is on a divorce and moves to a new apartment to start a new life, and that's where some strange calls begin.A woman, Rose, insistently calls, we realize that she is depressed and with some problems.
Determined to find out who the mysterious caller is, Mary starts to look into who the previous apartment's occupants were but nothing can prepare her for what is really happening and who the calls are coming from.The Caller is another one of those "work it out for yourself" types of films because the way the story evolves as the movie goes on, you literally do have to work it out for yourself as the plot really gives you nothing as to why things are happening.
Mary realizes with horror that Rose can do things in the past which affects the future she is in.
Although the ending was not as good as it could have been, I was happy to see that she learned something out of it.Rose tells Mary in the beginning that something as odd as the time calling could only happen for a reason.
I was surprised when I sat down to watch this movie, and I actually found myself engrossed in the film as well as a little creeped out.
As much as I complain that all horror films are the same, this movie is very refreshing in its premise except for the ending.
Coming to the plot which starts normal for the first 30 minutes, Mary (Rachelle Lefevre) moves in to an apartment complex in Puerto Rico to escape her abusive ex-husband who is none too happy about the divorce or the restraining order placed against him.
The woman starts to lose it and the movie ends with her killing her ex husband?