I've seen this movie quite a few times, and I especially love watching it around Halloween. But the only reason I came here to write this review is because I just watched it again today and IMDb got rid of discussion boards so I can't say it there. Sooo, why has no one mentioned how far fetched it is that the "stranger" managed to get Tiffany all the way up to the 3rd floor bathroom without Jill even noticing? Lol

Agreeing to take a baby-sitting job, a teen alone in a dark, isolated house gradually learns the harassing phone-calls towards her are coming from inside the house and must get away from the stranger before it's too late.Overall this one was pretty bland but certainly had some good points here. One of the film's few good points here is the gradual building tension with the phone calls, as this one gets these going along really well. From the pranks by her friends and the initially harmless joke-calls to the growing realization that there's something more to the calls, the incessant ringing and shallow perverted breathing merely add to this and their frantic nature becomes all the more apparent and well-deserved so that the tracing attempts that come up delivers really well here. As these are really serviceable scenes, these here all set the stage for what is undoubtedly the best and most worthwhile part of this, the actual stalking and brawling in the house. From the first confrontation, where he comes through an open-air part of the ceiling towards her, escaping to an underwater pond inside the aquarium to the struggle on-and-off the open staircase, with her trying to run away and he repeatedly grabs her legs and pulls her toward him each time she tries to escape, it's all good with plenty of action and smarts as she tries to escape the confrontation inside and tries to find the missing kids. It's a really decent showing and deserves some special mention. Still, beyond these points there are some really troubling parts to this that really hold this down. The biggest point here is in how the main half to this one is just endlessly repeating itself, continually blaring the phone calls on end that's quite aggravating since this results in endless scenes of her fidgeting around the house while the clumsily-conceived investigations into the possible party she thinks is behind the joke until the next phone-call appears to continue the aggravation. That this goes on for as long as it does before getting to the main attacks is the real reason why this sinks down by making it drag out replaying it over-and-over again. As well, another big factor here in the inherent tame-ness of the entire thing, as the rating here means that the entire effort is tease without delivering, effectively rendering most of what happens here moot as it won't go as far as it really should here with this kind of plot line and action, and that includes what happens to the kills here with such a small amount of kills done off-screen and never show how they truly died as the tell- tale wounds are completely missing when they're stumbled upon later. The last flaw here is the rather over-the-top and utterly unrealistic house that never looks livable and instead feels purposefully designed to showcase the chasing at the end instead of doing anything worthwhile. These here really hold this one back.Rated PG-13: Language and Mild Violence.

It's Fernhill, Colorado and the teens are having a big bonfire party. Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is forced to babysit for the Mandrakis after exceeding her phone minutes. The Mandrakis live in a big house. There are two sleeping kids (Madeline Carroll, Arthur Young), and housekeeper Rosa at the house. Jill starts getting weird phone calls. She's angry at her boyfriend Bobby (Brian Geraghty) and friend Tiffany (Katie Cassidy) for kissing. Tiffany crashes her babysitting gig and then disappears. The calls keep coming and Jill calls the police.Camilla Belle is really pretty but rather bland as an actress. It doesn't help that the movie relies so heavily on her being alone. Quite frankly, nothing happens for most of the movie. They don't even introduce the kids until late in the movie. It doesn't take advantage of the girl alone scenario with better atmosphere. It never gets to a scary place. It's a lot of phone calls and missed connections. The whole movie feels like a missed connection. The final section is filled with action but it's too late.

This is a nicely done thriller about Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle), who is being forced to babysit at a three-story house all by herself. Later, the phone rings and a stranger on the other end makes odd remarks. After Jill calls the police to trace the call, she discovers that the calls were coming from inside the house. Therefore, Jill attempts to make a mad dash to the door with the children, hoping to escape the threat before it gets her.The actors provided a serious performance, giving enough drama and suspense to make the horror film watchable and believable. The scenes with the stranger's voice over the phone, Jill and the kids running to hide themselves from danger, and the suspense making you wonder where in the house the stranger is lurking in all make this movie one thrilling ride and certainly will keep you intrigued throughout. The film's elements is almost like a mixture of "Scream" and "Panic Room" combined; it is a little predictable, but nonetheless, entertaining.Grade B-