Review of The Caller

The Caller (2011)
5/10
Interesting premise with poor execution
4 September 2011
The premise of this movie is actually somewhat interesting, even though it's pretty clearly "borrowed" from Frequency. I'm sure it was pitched as "Frequency meets 100 Feet (the Eric Red movie from 2008)". It's not the worst idea I've heard, though it's definitely derivative. The problem is that they never really got any further than that, and it plays out rather stereotypically, with heavy-handed direction, bland characters, trite plotting, and weak dialogue. What really saved the movie, however, was Lorna Raver, who played the crazy gypsy woman in Drag Me To Hell. Man, that woman is creepy! Just hearing her voice on the phone was enough to creep me out. Without her, this movie would only be a 4/10. I'm tempted to give this movie a 6/10, just because of her, but she was the only good thing in it, really.

There are a few times when you're left scratching your head, wondering why the characters are so dumb, but these kinds of thrillers absolutely depend on stupid characters doing things that defy all common sense. If that kind of thing annoys you, I'd avoid this movie. Otherwise, if you're not expecting much and lower your expectations, you might find this an enjoyable waste of time. It's nothing special, but it's not offensively bad, either. If you liked this movie, I'd suggest checking out 100 Feet, a supernatural thriller featuring an abused wife trying to convince people that she's being haunted by her dead, abusive husband. It wasn't amazing, but it was significantly better than this movie. Obviously, there's also Frequency, but that was played much more straight, without the B movie vibe of 100 Feet or The Caller.
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