Director Fred Walton knows how to grab an audience. The first 15 minutes of "When A Stranger Calls" is powerfully effective as we watch a helpless Carol Kane slowly being terrorized by a series of strange phone calls inquiring as to whether or not she has "checked the children". There is a neat twist which I am sure everyone knows anyway but I won't reveal it here. Sadly, the preview of the film (much like the preview for the upcoming remake) gives away the big surprise.<br /><br />After the slam bang opening the film grounds to a dead halt as babysitter Kane tries to get on with her life while detective Charles Durning tries tracking down the killer. The next hour is filled with tedious scenes as we get needless character development when what we want is to be scared. The final sequence does provide one really good jolt which is quite unexpected but you may have already fallen asleep by then.<br /><br />As I said director Walton knows how to grab an audience. When he made the sequel "When A Stranger Calls Back" some 14 years later he had another superb opening sequence (even better then the original's) before it fell apart the rest of the way. If only he could find a way to hold on to his audience with the full grip he applies at the beginning of his films.