When a Stranger Calls

A black cat. Howling wind. A hot shower running for no reason. Director Simon West (Con Air) milks these and every other horror-film cliché in his dragging remake of Fred Walton’s 1979 chiller. Stretching the original’s first act — murderous crank caller torments babysitter over 87 minutes, When a Stranger Calls runs out of scares long before Belle discovers the psycho is (say it with me) inside the house! EXTRAS Deleted scenes, a director/star commentary, and a featurette offering insights like a producer’s description of Belle: ”She’s not…beauty-queen beautiful, she’s interesting beautiful.”