Skip to main content

Don't Answer the Phone! (1980)


As the 1980's opened up, so did the number of horror movies increase.  One common theme was the idea of the "home invader"- someone entering your home and doing nasty things to you.

Dr. Lindsay Gale has been receiving phone calls to her radio show from a person calling himself "Ramone", claiming to suffer from headaches, and having found the cure.  During one such call, "Ramone" treates Dr. Gayle to the sounds of his strangling a prostitute.  Soon, Dr. Gale and the two detectives assigned to investigate a string of stranglings are tracking the killer down, as he gets closer to his final victim... Dr. Gale...

"Don't Answer the Phone!" is a little misleading in its title- along with the tagline, "He'll Know You're Alone!" since the killer never once calls his victims- other than contacting Dr. Gale a couple of times.  I was a little disappointed and felt mislead myself.  I think the American title, "The Hollywood Strangler" would've been more appropriate- though dull.

Nicholas Worth put in a great performance as the killer.  Good enough to win the Medalla Sitges en Plata de Ley.  His character was interesting, though a little over the top in some scenes.  Sgt. Hatcher- played by Ben Frank was enjoyable as well, and delivered his sarcastic and humourous lines wonderfully.  Even though I felt Lt. Chris McCabe (portrayed by James Westmoreland) was a bit of a dick, I still liked him.  Frank and Westmoreland together were a good team.  The weakest role, I felt went to Flo Lawrence, who played Dr. Lindsay Gale.  She really didn't seem to serve a real purpose in the movie other to be the eventual target of the killer.  I felt the character deserved more development.

There is some excellent camera work in this film- the still shot at the top of this article being from one of the best scenes in the movie.  The use of reflections, and the light and shadows was very artistic and did a great job of creating a tense mood.  There are a few scenes that are very well done like that one.  They are, however balanced out with rather mundane exterior scenes that are pretty basic and straight forward shots.

Since the killer is killing women, you can expect to see some T&A in "Don't Answer the Phone!".. and not necessarily done in a subtle fashion, either.

Overall, because of the good camera work during some scenes, the performances given, and the titillation factor, "Don't Answer the Phone!", though misleading in its title, is still worth a viewing- and sits in "The Bad".
Labels:

Comments

  1. TrevorDecember 30, 2012 at 11:24 PM

    The killings were intense! I was surprised by that. Plus I liked the film showed him lifting weights. Just bizarre. Anyway, this film is sort of like a poor man's Maniac.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zombie Bikers From Detroit (2001)

Over the years, it has been shown that with very little money, a skillful director can put together a high quality horror movie (John Carpenter's " Halloween ", " The Blair Witch Project ", and " Paranormal Activity " being a few of them).  So, when it comes to determining a movie's quality, budget is no longer a negative... Ken and his mother have moved from Hell, Michigan to Grosse Pointe near Detroit.  Upon his arrival, he meets the lovely Courtney, and her jealous suitor Chad.  While Ken and Chad square off, an evil is growing within Detroit and slowly spreading towards Grosse Point... where Ken will meet his destiny ... This week's " What Movie Wednesday " winner was " Zombie Bikers From Detroit "- a low budget horror movie that feels like it was put together as a school project.  High School, or College... I can't really tell. The premise- as stated in my little synopsis is interesting- as was the title.  ...
9 comments
Read more

Meridian: Kiss of the Beast (1990)

Sometimes, a director/producer will surprise you- such was the case during " Terrorpolooza 2012 " when I watched Charles Band's " Meridian: Kiss of the Beast " Catherine Bomarzini has come home after her father's death.  Needing company, she asks Gina to stay with her.  Soon, the two meet a wondering troupe of performers that Catherine invites to dinner at her castle. Catherine find herself pulled into a love triangle and an ancient curse that only she can break. After watching movies like " Evil Bong ", and " Demonic Toys ", I really wasn't expecting too much from this Charles Band movie- but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The story is actually quite interesting with lots of potential for eerie scenes, and character development.  It's a nice twist on the classic " Beauty and the Beast " story.  It's a bit slower than most of Band's other works, but moves smoothly and draws you with it. I have to ad...
Post a Comment
Read more

Demon Seed (Dean Koontz)

  Susan has withdrawn from the world  after her divorce from her abusive husband.  Her mansion contains state of the art household automation.  She is secure from the dangers of modern Life.  She is safe from an unsafe world... Too bad her mansion had other ideas... The idea of a Alexa/Siri controlled house going haywire may sound like something written within the past decade, but you might be surprised that Dean Koontz actually wrote this book back in 1973. That's right.  Just five years after " 2001: A Space Odyssey " hit theatres, Koontz wrote this book brining HAL to a more personal level, while predicting the advent of programs like Alexa and Siri. This book is actually a pretty quick read at 301 pages.  The story progresses and builds at a steady and fast pace.  The writing is smooth and seamless as the tension and events unfold before you.  I lost track of time as I turned page after page.  I loved that this book was written from ...
Post a Comment
Read more