I Loved this movie and I don't understand why this movie isn't more well known.The movie was very well directed and i thought the writing was pretty solid too. The movie may have a crazy idea about a person who kills people through phones but I thought the idea was handled well.some mystery Madman has created some kind of device that allows him to shoot waves of electricity through The phone wires and kill whoever answers The phone on The other end.so The key to surviving is Never answer The phone.The movie never came across as ridiculous to me, it always seemed very serious to me and I never found it dumb like some people did and I never found it boring either.The movie held my attention all the way through because of its intriguing mystery and Dark moody atmosphere.i also enjoyed watching the attack scenes i thought they were very over the top and crazy. whenever someone answered the phone it looked like lightening was flying out of the phone and it would send whoever answered the phone flying across the room.Its a crazy idea but it's Fun to watch.This movie was different from most other Horror mystery movies and That's mainly because it did something totally different.I personally think the idea of killing people through a phone is pretty cool and highly original.I have never seen an idea like this done in any other movie before. This movie should be considered a Classic for its originality alone and I think it's miles better than those slumber party massacre movies.those movies are okay but they have None of the originality or creepiness that this movie has. I'm a horror fan and I've heard a lot of people praise the slumber party massacre movies yet hardly anyone ever praises this movie and I think More Horror fans should praise Murder by phone instead.The movie has a great performance by Richard Chamberlain and I thought he was very likable as the lead character. He was a very smart and interesting character and I pretty much liked him right away because he seemed like a blue collar guy and I tend to like horror movies about blue collar people that find themselves in crazy situations, those types of stories just seem to appeal to me more than your typical by the numbers Slasher movie.Murder by phone is similar to a slasher movie but it Isn't one in my opinion, it's more of a mystery horror movie with a  bizarre story.the lead character investigates and tries to figure out what's going on and how all these people are dying.The police thinks all of the people that died died by heart attacks but one of the victims was only nineteen years old and the lead guy played by Richard Chamberlain finds it odd that someone could have a heart attack at such a young age and he does not believe that's what happened so he spends the entire movie investigating and trying to convince people that something more sinister is going on and his theories are met with scepticism which is understandable. however because the viewer knows how people are being murdered that makes us cheer for the main character to find and stop the bad guy and prove to everyone what is going on.I won't give away the ending but I will say this, I had a lot of Fun watching this movie and I Loved the Dark Moody atmosphere the movie had and I thought it was very interesting and suspenseful.This is definitely one of the better Horror mystery movies of the 80s and This classic should be on DVD and blu-ray.The movie is also a whodunit and trying to figure out who the killer is makes the movie Fun.Thanks for reading my review and I hope you watch the movie!.

Richard Chamberlin makes for an amiable hero in this idiosyncratic, Canadian shocker. He plays Nat Bridger, an idealistic, ecologically aware lecturer who eventually discovers through diligent investigation, somewhat incredulously, that a nefarious individual has manufactured a monstrous device that turns the once prosaic phone into a conduit of agonizing death. Includes nice support from John Houseman as his crotchety mentor, whose amenable exterior may conceal ulterior motives. 'Bells' might seem to have an entirely implausible premise, but nonetheless manages to coalesce into an efficient, and highly entertaining, early 80's horror; which is lent considerable verisimilitude by, Chamberlin's earnest performance. 'Bells' comes highly recommended.

Given the title, you would expect 'Murder by Phone' to be a silly eighties slasher style flick...and that's actually more or less what it is. The most notable thing about this film is definitely the killer's modus operandi. Most slashers simply feature some guy with a knife, but the killer in this film has decided to go a step further than that and had developed a way to use an ordinary telephone as a murder weapon! Obviously, the whole thing comes off as being more than a little bit silly, but the way that the murders are carried out is amusing enough. The plot centres on these murders and takes the form of an investigative thriller, as our hero, Nat Bridger, begins looking into the death of one of his students. The film is never really all that interesting, but at least it's not boring and there's usually another murder scene just around the corner anyway; though unfortunately, they are pretty much the same. Director Michael Anderson does manage some fairly good moments of suspense, a couple of major characters have close calls (no pun intended) when speaking on the phone and there are various other bits and bobs to keep us interested. I can't say that this is a brilliant film, but it's at least worth a look.

Canadian horror film starring Richard Chamberlain as a professor out to prove a conspiracy exists in a huge phone company as they cover up a mad killer that uses high-pitch frequencies on the phone to kill people. The movie resembles Coma with its thriller-like atmosphere and its one person against the world protagonist. As thrillers go, the film is pretty enjoyable, although it is definitely short on logic. You really will need to suspend some disbelief here. Michael Anderson directs(quite a ways down from directing Around the World in Eighty Days if you ask me...which you didn't) with some polish and flair, using the materials he is given to their best. John Houseman is somewhat wasted in the film, but his verbal reparte with Chamberlain is quite amusing. Chamberlain is adequate in the lead. The special effects are...well, not too impressive. Some of the death scenes are over-acted and over-directed, and unintentionally amusing.