MovieChat Forums > When a Stranger Calls (1979) Discussion > Ok so like half of the film was pointles...

Ok so like half of the film was pointless (spoilerzzzzzz)


OK so did anyone feel like half of the film was pointless. Like the guy is in search of the killer but then never catches him and then it goes back to the lady from the beginning 10 years or so later. Yeah i thought the film was great and did make me jump at parts but, i felt that it could have been written a little better...ya know???

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i liked the middle half, as well as the whole film in general. my only complaint was that Jill didnt factor back in until the last act, but thats a minor flaw honestly. the middle part does an awesome job of making us see the killer and see him for what he is; some may say this takes away the menace of his character, but i disagree; in fact unlike the Michael Meyers like psycho in the remake, this killer is troubled, vulnerable and unpredictable.

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i think it's a mediocre movie after first ~20 minutes (duration can change because of different dvd formats); not bad, not totally pointless, but nothing special either.

first 20 minutes were excellent though. probably one of the best 20 minutes i've ever seen in a film

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Most people I've seen feel the same way as you and only like the first 20 minutes. However, I'm one of the rare people that like the entire film. The first and ending sections are some of the absolute most horrifying moments in horror film history (I can't imagine what I'd do in Jill's situation). But I feel the middle section really goes deep into the psychology of a serial killer and shows how someone as crazed as Curt Duncan would attempt to become a part of society again. The first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes are a horror film, but the middle section is more of a psychological thriller. Although different, I think both are extremely well done.

I've been waiting for you, Ben.

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Wow, horror2....I'm impressed with your restraint. I'm not so good or generous to idiotic "humans" with clearly no brains and little more than a heartbeat.

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No, not pointless. It did something most horror movies today would never do...it went deeper. Meaning, it was meant to show the truly disturbed psychological hell that was Kurt Duncan's psyche. Take a few psych courses, or educate yourself on your own and then rewatch. I shouldn't be so hard on your view but honestly, it reads as though you have the intellectual level of a 12 year old.

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