Thehibikiew Not even bad in a good way

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Leofwine_draca DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! is a serial killer thriller that makes up for a lack of gore and bloodshed with a really sleazy atmosphere that gives it a low-down gritty feel. This is one of the most interesting films to be released by low budget purveyors Crown International Pictures, and it's the first one I've watched from the studio that has real power.It's reasonable to expect DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! to be a dud, because many of the elements in the film simply aren't very good. The plotting is haphazard and the police investigation stuff is really boring. The majority of the cast give stilted performances and the scripting is sub par too. The whole film has a scuzzy, on-the-street type look to it that makes it very much a product of its era.The film has a single saving grace in the form of Nicholas Worth, who plays the killer. Worth was a long-time B-movie veteran and this is the performance of his career. His crazed maniac goes around slaughtering women while at the same time praying to the spirit of his stepfather and going off on incredibly entertaining spiels that were by all accounts ad-libbed by the actor. I've always liked Worth and his performance here is the stuff of greatness; sad, then, that due to the film's subject matter it is a role that remains unseen and unappreciated by most.

morrison-dylan-fan Talking to a family friend about Horror movies that they were searching for on DVD,I was surprised to hear them give details about a film,which sounded like a more extreme take on an under rated Slasher Thriller called Eyes of a Stranger.Searching round on Amazon UK,I was pleased to find,that along with the cut UK edition of the movie,a completely uncut version of the film had also come out on DVD in the US,which lead to me deciding that this would be a call worth listening in to.The plot:Hearing on the news about the police discovering his 5th rape/murder victim,serial killer Kirk Smith decides to celebrate by phoning up a local radio station,and talk to the host of a psychologist program called Dr.Lindsay Gale.Putting on a fake voice and using the name "Ramone",Smith is thrilled to hear Gale give him a nervous reaction,until Lindsay begins to ask "Ramone" if he has taken the medical advice that she gave him,when "Ramone" last phoned up the show.Angered over Gale ruining his fun,Smith decides that is time for him to start searching for a new victim.Being placed by their chief officer as the investigators of the mysterious serial killer's spree,Lt. Chris McCabe and Sgt.Hatcher find themselves completely out of their dept in predicting the killer's next move.Focusing on doing extensive evidence gathering at the murder scenes,and also knocking down a number of doors,McCabe and Hatcher begin to suspect that the killer might be a fan of a local radio show…View on the film:Before getting to the movie itself,I first have to give a special mention to the Scorpion Releasing DVD,which along with offering a terrific,clean uncut print of the film,also fill the DVD with a number of very informative extras,which include a great commentary by Co- producer/Co-writer/ (along with Michael Castle and actor Nicolas Worth) director Robert Hammer-who sounds like one of the most mild mannered directors of the last 20 years!.Shooting his first,and only film in 18 days,Hammer impressively overcomes the tired,misogynistic Slasher elements of the movie,by turning the second half of the film into a GrindHouse Slasher!,with Hammer and Castle giving McCabe and Hatcher's search for the killer an unexpected comedic edge,whilst also making sure that the blood of Smith's victim's solely runs in the gutter,thanks to Hammer illegal filming on the dirty,grime-covered streets of Las Angeles,which lead to this phone call being one that you wont forget for a good while.

bob_meg Remember the deliberately cheesy slasher movie parody that comprises the first five minutes of Brian DePalma's "Blow Out?" The libidinous airheads, the wheezing psycho, the wretched synthesizer score? Well, "Don't Answer the Phone" is the real thing. Seriously. For all I know DePalma actually had this movie in mind when he made "Blow Out," which hit theaters less than a year afterward.As a movie, there's not much to recommend. The plot is by the numbers: sicko breaking into homes killing women, leaving clues with a talk show host, pursued by police so over-the-top retarded that they kill the only witness they have, so far, to the crimes. The script is abysmal. The lead characters are not remotely likable or realistic. The top cop is a guy so obnoxious, stone-faced, and stupid that you are actually rooting for the psycho to beat the hell out of him in the climax. The actor playing him, James Westmoreland, doesn't seem to get the joke --- it's one of the most wooden monotone performances I've ever seen. I've heard some say Flo Gerrish is redeemable in the shrink role...sorry, I've seen better hand-wringing in C-grade soaps.Then...there's the late Nicholas Worth who always manages to bring something extra to nearly every role he's in...which is usually always a beefy menacing henchmen for someone or other. He, too, bears with some of the triteness of the script: the religious "wacko" overtones, the mix of maniacal sobbing and raging. But he, unlike the rest of the clueless droolers he's sharing the screen with, actually strikes a nerve, particularly in the murder scenes.So what's different about these scenes, you may ask, from all the assault scenes you've seen before? Well, Worth just seems to really be embodying this role, to the point that it's uncomfortable to watch. He possesses this character's sadism to a point where you wonder how he could really separate fantasy from reality. He's a very good method actor. At the start of the picture, his most chilling bullying is verbal, but near the end of the film, in the murder of the two roommates, his hatred is palpable. And the end of the film, where he faces off with Gerrish, brings an energy and intensity with it that is frankly one of the most frightening displays of rage I've ever seen on film.It's Worth alone that saves this dismal little drive-in dud. He elevates this movie to a level of disturbing that it doesn't remotely have the right to earn.

dbborroughs Photographer turner killer has a fascination for a radio talk show shrink. When he's got nothing else to do he dons a black sticking mask and goes around and kills women. Prototypical mad slasher movie is way too talky and much too silly for it to amount to anything other than an unintelligent yuck fest. I dare you not to scream in hysterical laughter at the emotional out pouring of anguish expressed by the killer at one point. How could anyone think he was even remotely serious? One of many films from the 70's and 80's that placed "Don't" in their title to cash in on the brief vogue for the word in the title. The title here really doesn't apply to anything other than the killer sneaks up on women who are on the phone. This is a lousy movie that s a waste of time. If you need proof you only need look at the cast list which lists the characters not by name but by things like Killer, Hooker, cop.