This is an 80's TV re-make of the late 50's Williamn Castle film "I Saw What You Did", and in some ways it is an improvement on the original. Yes, it is a little hard to believe that by the 80's teenage girls would be so naive and dimwitted that they'd fall in love with a guy they only spoke to once on the phone (while making crank calls)and then conspire to meet him (not knowing that he'd just killed his girlfriend). But if you can leave plausibility at the door, this movie is quite a bit of fun.
The young lead actress is Shawnee Smith in one of her first roles. She didn't appear in that many movies (her most famous was perhaps "The Blob", another 80's re-make of a 50's flick), but she always made an impression (especially if you were an adolescent male in the 80's), and she has mounted a comeback recently with the "Saw" franchise. The killer meanwhile is played by Robert Carradine, the most underrated of the Carradine brothers (his older brother, the late David Carradine, also appears in a supporting role as the character's--uh--older brother). Tammy Lauren plays Smith's more experienced, but alas no smarter, friend, but leaves little impression aside from her 80's-style damaged hair. A young Candace Cameron is just flat-out annoying as Smith's little sister (tragically, nobody kills her and stuffs her body in a trash compactor).
This was directed by none other than Fred Walton, a minor horror auteur responsible for the original "When a Stranger Calls", the fun 80's slasher spoof "April Fool's Day", and the belated but superior 90's sequel "When a Stranger Calls Back". He became a specialist of sorts in low-budget, phone-related thrillers, and though he was obviously hampered somewhat by the limitations of late 80's television here, he directs this as effectively, if not more effectively, than the late William Castle. It's probably easier to FIND the original Castle version these days than this one, but this is still worth checking out.
The young lead actress is Shawnee Smith in one of her first roles. She didn't appear in that many movies (her most famous was perhaps "The Blob", another 80's re-make of a 50's flick), but she always made an impression (especially if you were an adolescent male in the 80's), and she has mounted a comeback recently with the "Saw" franchise. The killer meanwhile is played by Robert Carradine, the most underrated of the Carradine brothers (his older brother, the late David Carradine, also appears in a supporting role as the character's--uh--older brother). Tammy Lauren plays Smith's more experienced, but alas no smarter, friend, but leaves little impression aside from her 80's-style damaged hair. A young Candace Cameron is just flat-out annoying as Smith's little sister (tragically, nobody kills her and stuffs her body in a trash compactor).
This was directed by none other than Fred Walton, a minor horror auteur responsible for the original "When a Stranger Calls", the fun 80's slasher spoof "April Fool's Day", and the belated but superior 90's sequel "When a Stranger Calls Back". He became a specialist of sorts in low-budget, phone-related thrillers, and though he was obviously hampered somewhat by the limitations of late 80's television here, he directs this as effectively, if not more effectively, than the late William Castle. It's probably easier to FIND the original Castle version these days than this one, but this is still worth checking out.