Classic Film Sequences: "When A Stranger Calls" (1979)

Forget the terrible 2006 remake, and stick with the superior -- and scarier -- original. This suspense film is about a young woman (played by Carol Kane in a rare dramatic role) who keeps receiving crank calls from a mysterious caller while she is babysitting two children who are asleep upstairs. The first 20 minutes of this film are perfect; so suspenseful that I would dare to call them 20 of the scariest minutes on celluloid. Whenever somebody says about a suspense film: "Don't watch this film alone or in the dark", I scoff. But in the case of the original When A Stranger Calls, I would definitely take their recommendation. Because if you want to be scared witless, the opening 20 minutes of this film will do that no problem. The film falters following its stellar opening, but it's still worth seeing.

Here is an excerpt from the first 20 minutes. To give you the whole 20 minutes would not be fair. But here's a teaser, albeit a scary one.