YMMV / When a Stranger Calls

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• Complete Monster: The 2006 remake's version of the Stranger is a Serial Killer who stalks, terrifies and eventually murders young women for the joy of it. He prefers to target babysitters, having no compunction about killing the children that they are watching over either. He murders a babysitter and her two charges on the other side of town, and then preys on Jill for the rest of the film, killing her best friend Tiffany and a housekeeper in the process. He is eventually stopped and arrested, but the ordeal proves so traumatic for Jill that she suffers a psychotic break, dreaming that the Stranger is still there to torment her.

• First Installment Wins: The film's iconic first act (the babysitter alone getting The Calls Are Coming from Inside the House) is far more vividly remembered and positively received than the rest of the film, which is likely why it was made the focus of the remake.
• It Was His Sled: The fact that The Calls Are Coming from Inside the House was originally a shocking twist. The trailer for the remake completely spoils this, as well.
• Moral Event Horizon: The Stranger crosses it by murdering children.
• Older Than They Think: The "The Calls Are Coming from Inside the House" trope did not originate with this film, but Black Christmas. And it was an urban legend before that, too.
• Paranoia Fuel: These films basically play on the fear of a) being alone in someone else's house, and b) unusual noises inside said house.
• Poor Man's Substitute: It's pretty obvious that television composer Dana Kaproff, in his score for the 1979 film, is trying to emulate Jerry Goldsmith alongside some scoring methods that predate James Horner's early eighties horror film works such as Wolfen, Deadly Blessing, or The Hand.
• Retroactive Recognition: In the remake, you may have noticed several well-known actors before their big break:
  • Dianna Agron is an uncredited extra as a cheerleader, a couple of years before playing Quinn Fabray.
  • Agent Phil Coulson is Jill's dad.
  • Coulson's not the only superhero in the remake, either. Tiffany is Katie Cassidy, aka Black Canary.
  • It doesn't end there. Jill's best friend Scarlett is played by future Creed and Thor: Ragnarok star Tessa Thompson in her film debut.
  • When he finally appears in the flesh, the Stranger is played by Chibs Telford.

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