The Caller

It was made in the late 80s but feels like it was a 1970s science-fiction flick on a shoe-string budget that has a big reveal that you can call at the start of the film with realitive ease. But, you know what? Who cares? It's actually very well acted, on both sides, and it's a pleasure to watch their preformances. And.... that makes it watchable, very watchable, even if the reveal is pretty predictable.

Mind games at a cabin-in-the-woods with Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith

Originally intended to be a theatrical release, this was shot in late 1986 and debuted at festivals Cannes and MystFest in 1987 but not released to video until late Dec 1989 in America.

It’s a psychological cat-and-mouse drama that turns into a thriller in the last dozen minutes. There’s a sense of unreality to the proceedings, but everything is explained by the end, albeit vaguely. You’ll have to make sense of the details based on hints in the dialogues.

The climax is unexpected and makes the movie whereas the bulk of the film consists of the two stars meeting at the cabin and getting to know each other in a strange way. Fans of either McDowell or Madolyn Smith will enjoy their tug-and-pull dramatics. Yet there is a scenic mountain drive sequence at the midpoint to stir things up.

The less you know the better, so I’m not going to cite comparisons. I’ll just say the creators had the gonads to be original.

It runs 1h 37h and was shot at Empire Studios, Rome, with the mountain sequence done in the Central Apennine Mountains in the region of Lazio.

GRADE: B-