Fans of the slasher genre can look back to the 1979 horror movie When A Stranger Calls for starting a lot of trends and tropes. The story of a babysitter named Jill Johnson (Carole Kane) taking care of kids while being stalked by a killer was truly the first of its kind. While many horror movies have been inspired by this amazing and impressive film, it's really the gold standard for how to tell this type of story.

In 2006, the remake of When A Stranger Calls was released, and it definitely isn't as good as the original. From a dull main character to the fact that not much happens throughout the whole movie, there are several reasons why the remake isn't much fun.

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The 2006 remake of When A Stranger Calls doesn't add anything to the original story and is an incredibly slow-paced film without the necessary scares to make it an entertaining experience. Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) has to babysit because she talked on her cell phone too much, which doesn't inspire much sympathy from audiences as it doesn't feel like an important or meaningful problem to have. When a horror remake is missing something, it's tough for fans who adored the original film since it would be great to have a new version of the tale to become invested in.

Katie Cassidy When A Stranger Calls

There are many horror movies about babysitting and it's always a great hook since it's easy to picture something awful happening. But the main problem with the 2006 When A Stranger Calls? It's incredibly boring because nothing happens. While the original premise is still here, as a babysitter learns that calls are coming from inside the house and that the children sleeping upstairs are in danger, there is really nothing else to hold onto here. Jill walks around the house for almost the entire run time, answering the phone and trying to get the police to help. When a remake tells the same story as the first movie, it will always run into the problem of how to excite audiences who feel attached to the original tale. But there is really nothing of substance here and it will leave horror fans wanting a story to hold onto.

Since there have been countless slasher horror franchises about characters running from killers in houses, or in weekend cabins, When A Stranger Calls needs something that will make it stick out. With so many horror movies about people home alone and getting phone calls from killers who are also right there, like the opening scenes of every Scream movie, the remake of When A Stranger Calls doesn't really do much for horror fans. The movie should lean into that more and include a few clever nods to previous horror movies that use the same kind of story. But instead, Jill keeps racing around a dark house, and audiences are more likely to feel bored and wish that something exciting was happening than to feel totally afraid.

Camille Belle In When A Stranger Calls

The movie is missing a character who is interesting and impressive, who has a great backstory that comes back to haunt them, and who doesn't shy away from the horrors in front of them. Jill is an incredibly typical teenage girl character. She has a best friend and seems popular but audiences don't get more than that. Carole Kane gives a better performance as she's a talented actor who showed just how scared Jill was of the situation. Jill in the 2006 movie doesn't look that terrified and it's hard to really believe that she cares about what's happening to her. The fact that Jill also seems frustrated to be babysitting is also a mistake, as it doesn't make audiences care much about her or think that she's a very nice person.

There are two major deaths in the movie: Jill's best friend Tiffany Madison (Katie Cassidy) and Rosa Ramirez (Rosine Ace Hatem), the housekeeper. But these aren't the creative death scenes from Halloween Kills or the Scream movies, or even the Final Destination franchise. The movie doesn't spend enough time on each character, so when these minor characters are murdered, audiences can't really think much about it.

The original movie is based on the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs," and while the remake is of course going to have the same premise, it really needs a lot more than that. There's no hook and the film's ending feels particularly cheesy as Jill is in the hospital and has a vision of the killer standing in the room and trying to hurt her. Ultimately, if Jill would fight back in the tradition of many amazing characters in scary movies, the conclusion would be interesting and make the whole experience feel a lot more fun.

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