MovieChat Forums > When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) Discussion > Far from being great! The orignal is far...

Far from being great! The orignal is far superior

posted 21 years ago by daysfan15yrs
15 replies | jump to latest

As a huge fan of the original, I must say I was very dissapointed in the sequel. It started out great. The opening was scary and as effective as the orignal. But it ends and goes down hill from there. The rest of the movie is boring and long. Who cares about this stranger or why he does the things he does? They should have used the same stranger, that way the title would be more understanding. How can a stranger call back if he never called before? It's not the same stranger, this stranger only called once and hung up. He knocked at the door instead. The proper title should be "WHEN A STRANGER KNOCKS" The ending was stupid, Julia should have had more of a role in the movie instead of being in the hospital.

[–] dgunning 20 years ago

The original was crap. the only good part in the first one was the start and that was it. The rest was complete crap and so are you

[–] Sburt4-1 20 years ago

I wish Jill Schoelen would had been in the movie a little bit more. I loved the beginning! Very Scary indeed!

[–] RiversAttic 20 years ago

The original sucked ass! The sequel was much better done, with much better acting. The ending sent chills down my spine. I was scared to baby-sit for a long time after viewing this movie.

[–] Sburt4-1 19 years ago

The beginning was so scary I thought. One of the best beginnings I saw in a long time. I liked how Schoelen was dressed, I felt like it was sort of a throwback to the 1970's films. The fact that the children were never found was distrubing. The idea that someone was moving things around in Schoelen's apartment was wicked scary! I liked the fact it didn't go into much of a explanation for his actions made it so darn scary.

[–] daysfan15yrs 19 years ago

Reading my post now makes me go huh? Why did I write that. Sorry to those who like the sequel, I shouldn't have judged it so harshly. But for I thought the original better. I will admit the opening of the sequel was awesome, it was truely scary that gave me nightmares (along witht the original) for weeks,but I didn't care much for the movie. The original is far from perfect either, it has it's flaws I know, but It had amazing opening, and almost as good ending. The middle was slow and a bit boring though I did like some of the scenes with Colleen Dewherst. I'm not usually a fan of remakes, but I hear there is to be a remake for both of these movies. I'm really curious to see what they can come up with.

Anyone who does like these movies should check out Black Christmas. It's a Canadian Cult Classic, that will truely send chills up your spines (Though I must admit it does have it's funny moments too. Another movie to be remade as well)

[–] Dracarys13 15 years ago

I personally like both movies, so I don't think either one sucked. The remake was pretty bad, if you want the truth. I think of 'When a Stranger Calls' as more of a detective story than a scary one, mainly because the middle of the movie is focused on John Clifford and his almost obsessive hunt for Duncan. This movie is a little scarier for me. The fact that the stalker is a ventriloquist is a big part of it. The stalker element was pretty frightening as well- knowing he had been in Julia's room, moving things around, leaving one of the kid's shirts...

I liked things about both movies. I liked the characters in both movies, and I loved that Clifford and Jill were in this movie- it wouldn't feel like a continuation without them. I loved the opening and ending sequences in both movies. Colleen Dewherst was great in the first movie, but I liked Jill Schoelen in this one.

My best friend's boyfriend made us watch this movie one day when we were snowed into her house. At first, I didn't particularly like it. I hated the nudity (I pretty much always hate nudity, to be fair) in the bar scene- it seemed unnecessary, and I thought the villain was more silly than scary. It wasn't until years later that I watched the first movie and realized how brilliant the concept was. The more I watch these movies, the more I like them. The plot is imaginative, the characters are interesting, and to this day, I still get chills when I hear the line, "We've traced the calls. They're coming from inside the house!"

How many more lives? You want another life? Then take ME!
-Reverend Scott, The Poseidon Adventure

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] MissDemeanour 15 years ago

I agree with the above post...the original had a great opening. Very scary and suspenseful indeed. A movie that I find myself watching over and over just to enjoy the chilling atmosphere it creates! However, I usually only watch the first part about the babysitting incident before getting a bit bored. It picks up again when Jill gets the phonecall in the restaurant and realises that HER OWN kids are in potential danger.
The sequal in my opinion was also a good movie. It had a lot of suspense, which is a rare find in movies nowadays. I like the fact that it leaves so many questions unanswered, for me this only adds to the appeal of the movie. The best bit for me is when the guy "appears" out of the brick wall at the end...freaky!

[–] JennForU 11 years ago

Well I don't think it's worst or best, I think they are both different... The first one was more of a thriller, and the second was more psychological. But I love them both :)

[–] rc-108 11 years ago

I loved them both.
I also loved Kane and Durning in both these movies.
The ventriloquist was crazy creepy.

these are the kind of movies to watch alone in the dark.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] mahou_fancy_lala 10 years ago

So, did you like fast forward after the first 20 or so minutes, then stopped near the end? Because this movie sucked outside of the opener.

[–] musicman37 9 years ago

The original movie was brilliant....for the first 20 minutes, then for the last 10. In between was a lot of convoluted, boring crap, involving the cop's vendetta about finding and wanting to kill the escaped looney instead of just putting him back into the asylum.

The sequel was much more inventive, more psychological, and twisted, to boot. I can't believe this movie was shown as a movie of the week....ON TV!!

[–] mahou_fancy_lala 9 years ago

I agree. I meant that the original sucked outside of the intro and outro scenes.