Lifetime
It’s a shame that Lifetime uses its Sunday night slot to basically dump its movies that may not have the hook of the Saturday ‘Ripped from the Headlines’ movies, because oftentimes they are more entertaining than those more ‘prestigious’ offerings. The Sunday movies usually arrive with little-to-no fanfare and absolutely no promotional assets for the media outlets to pull from, leaving reviewers to do what they can to find images and production information or just skip reviewing them altogether (perhaps that’s what the network prefers). The latest Sunday night movie, The Killer is Calling, deserves more attention than Lifetime is giving it.
The Killer is Calling stars Janaya Stephens as Faye, a 911 operator on an island that is only accessible by ferry. As the story begins Faye is training newbie Jake (Robert Bazzocchi), who panics during his first few calls including one in which a newborn (very, as in on its way into the world) was in distress, which Faye handled with calm expertise, saving the day. Faye assured Jake he would get there with time, and he also needs to learn all the quirks of the people of the island where everyone knows everyone else. For some reason there is a pizza party at the station after their shift ends, and Jake is in charge of ordering the pizza. They see the delivery man from the back as they leave, and Faye goes home to her family while Jake goes home to his pregnant wife. Faye’s home life seems strained and her daughter Alex (Alex Hook) wonders if her parents are on the verge of splitting. Husband Chris is recovering from a foot injury, and the at home nurse, Stella (Bree Wasylenko) has almost become part of the family, to the point that she’s invited to stay for family game night when she says she’s just going home alone.
But the night takes a turn when everyone at the precinct gets food poisoning and Jake and Faye are called back in to man the phones. In the meantime, a drunk citizen, Ed (Joe Pin), is brought in to dry out in the one cell in the station and all hell begins to break out in the town. Fires flare up, panicked calls come in, and one caller is a bit more sinister, taking credit for the fear gripping the town, and directing his ire at Faye, threatening her family, and taunting her that everything that’s happening is her fault, she just has to figure out why. The caller also has her personal phone number as well as Jake’s, and he sends Jake a picture of his wife tied up in what looks like a barn, threatening to harm her if Jake allows Faye to leave the station and if they get the police involved. Faye is able to make some calls on her phone, including getting a SWAT team mobilized on the mainland to board the ferry, but the mystery caller seems to know their every move from inside the station, thwarting almost every plan they make. When Faye tries to leave, Jake grabs a knife and forces her to stay, and they both continue to do what they can by phone and radio. Faye eventually does put two-and-two together with the help of Jake and Ed, and comes to a horrifying conclusion that reveals to her who the killer is, and that someone else she knows may not be who they seem. Faye and Ed subdue Jake and she tries to make her way to her family, but will she be too late?
Lifetime
The Killer is Calling is a total surprise of a thriller, utilizing just the one location of the police precinct very effectively for most of the movie’s running time. Director Craig Pryce manages to ratchet up the tension through the use of the voices on the phones, most of them in some kind of panic while the killer remains calm and threatening. Actors Stephens and Bazzocchi do a really great job of conveying their own panic, concern and fear while Stephens also has to remain calm when Bazzocchi becomes threatening, at first making us wonder if he isn’t in cahoots with the caller killer (he’s just trying to protect his wife). When the film’s big reveal comes, it is truly a jaw-dropping moment that may actually make you gasp (this viewer did gasp and almost jumped off the couch because I never saw it coming — which is some great plot construction by writers Alyssa Kramer and Troup Wood). The Killer is Calling almost harkens back to those ‘the call is coming from inside the house’ movies like When a Stranger Calls, even though the killer is outside the precinct with an ability to see what’s going on inside. Things could easily get boring in what is basically a one-room movie (Faye is only outside the precinct at the start and end of the movie), but Pryce manages to keep things moving, and the addition of Ed in the holding cell, a man who also seems to know more than he’s letting on, keeps the viewer fully engaged. Just some great work by the director, writers and production crew here.
Stephens is terrific as Faye, a woman with a stressful job, a stressful home life, who always has a calm demeanor on display. She has to really keep her wits about her as she tries to solve the mystery of who the killer is and what it is she did to be the cause of all this, while also hearing things over the phone and radio that are frightening (like her captain having his throat slit!) and leave her feeling helpless. Then she also has to deal with Jake, but when she finally gets out of the station, Stephens clearly shows Faye’s panic but she still manages to keep her head and uses clever clues from her husband to save her family. Bazzocchi is also very good as the green 911 operator, showing his own panic during his first calls, sucking it up as things in town begin to fall apart, and then losing his cool when he can’t contact his wife. Both actors have to react only to voices, using mostly their facial expressions as their performance — a tough act to pull off — and they both are magnificent, making the situation totally believable, keeping the viewers invested in their dire situation.
The rest of the cast also does excellent work, but we’ll refrain from saying too much so as not to spoil the big reveals and identity of the killer and his accomplice. What is interesting about the ending of the movie is that there is no real resolution. Yes, Faye saves her family in the end, as well as Jake’s wife, but while it seems the killer is dead … we really don’t know if he is or not. And the accomplice runs off into the night after having an attack of conscience when it comes to the killing of a pregnant woman. Could this be a set-up for a sequel? If it’s as good as The Killer is Calling, I’m all on board but for now this is a pretty nifty thriller with a great premise, great story structure, a surprising reveal, and masterful acting and directing. Lifetime should have been more confident in this one and given it the attention it deserved.
The Killer is Calling has a run time of 1 hour 30 minutes, and is rated TV-14.