when a stranger calls

Horror movies were so much scarier before caller ID; not to mention cell phones, Wi-Fi and every other invention that allows potential victims to contact the authorities before some maniac hacks them to pieces. Who could have guessed that modern technology would mean the death of serial killers as we knew them? It makes a movie like When A Stranger Calls (1979) seem positively Amish in terms of the killer’s techniques in stalking his prey.

Expanded into a feature-length film from his own short, director Fred Walton begins with the well-known urban legend about a babysitter receiving prank calls from a menacing voice asking, “Have you checked the children?” (Stop reading now if you haven’t heard this one before.) When the police finally trace the line, it’s revealed the calls are actually coming from inside the house!

It’s a doozy of an intro and really stands on it’s own as a thrilling piece of filmmaking. But When A Stranger Calls is so much more than that first 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it simply didn’t fit within the slasher era in which it was made. Rather than introduce another faceless killer, the film delivers a punishing profile of a psycho on the loose…then asks the audience to sympathize with him.

Played brilliantly by British actor Tony Beckley (who was terminally ill throughout production), the character of Curt Duncan is about as far removed from Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers as possible. The film follows his sad and lonely attempt pick up a woman at a bar (Colleen Dewhurst, another good performance in a film full of them) which leads to disappointment and a tragic obsession. Meanwhile cop-turned-private eye John Clifford (Charles Durning) is hired by the family of Duncan’s previous victims to track him down and exterminate with extreme prejudice.

When A Stranger Calls doesn’t follow the standard slasher pattern. In fact, it often makes clumsy and confusing choices as a film in general. But the film defies expectations in a genre that isn’t exactly known for innovation. And it’s cast, including a young Carol Kane (Taxi) as the tortured babysitter, works at a level far above your usual teenagers in jeopardy.

Next up in this double-feature blu-ray is Happy Birthday to Me (1981), which is memorable mostly for the stunt casting of the Melissa Sue Anderson - who was still a regular on the goody-two-shoes program Little House on the Prairie at the time. Just to put this in context, having Anderson star in a slasher film was the equivalent of Miley Cyrus pole dancing while she was still on the Disney Channel. It was a big deal…at least for a week or so.

The actual film is exceedingly well shot by director J. Lee Thompson (the original Cape Fear) and looks like a million bucks compared to similar horror knock-offs of the day. The victims this time are a private school “top ten,” an incestuous little group of rich kids who include the skittish Virginia (Anderson) in their nightly carousing. But when the “who’s who” begin to disappear, Virginia seems the most likely suspect thanks to her mysterious brain surgery and questionable memory. The plot becomes downright ludicrous towards the end and the killings are all rather quaint by today’s standards. But connoisseurs of post-Halloween copycats will find much to amuse themselves with here.

This budget priced blu-ray double feature released by Mill Creek Entertainment simply has no right looking this good. Both movies are making their hi-def debuts and can be had for under $10 bucks. Maybe technology isn’t so bad after all?