THE CALLER: A Mysterious Sci-Fi Thriller with a Twist

A cabin hidden deep in the woods, two strangers, a mystery, and tension… We’ve seen this premise thousands of times. Yet nearly forty years ago, a film The Caller was made that managed to refresh this formula—though hardly anyone noticed.

A young woman lives alone in a wooden house deep in the forest. One day, she goes into town for groceries and, on her way back, comes across an abandoned car in a ditch. She gets the eerie feeling that someone is following her. That evening, while preparing dinner for her partner, who is expected to visit soon, there is a knock at the door. A well-dressed man with impeccable manners claims his car has broken down and asks to use her phone to call for roadside assistance. The woman hesitantly lets him in, and a conversation unfolds between the two strangers—one that gradually becomes more unsettling. The man asks uncomfortable questions, and she responds in kind. They catch each other in lies and inconsistencies. A suggestion arises that she may have murdered her family, while he might be a police officer tracking her down. But the truth is something else entirely.

Arthur Allan Seidelman (born 1937) is an American director of theater, television, and film, with dozens of productions to his name. His first feature film was the fantasy parody Hercules in New York (1970), which also marked Arnold Schwarzenegger’s screen debut. In the following years, Seidelman primarily worked in theater and television, directing several TV movies and episodes of series such as Hill Street Blues (1983–84), Dangerous Curves (1984), Fame (1985), Magnum, P.I. (1985–86), and Murder, She Wrote (1985–86). The Caller premiered at the Cannes Film Market in May 1987, was screened at the Italian festival MystFest in June, and hit theaters in Italy three months later. However, plans for a theatrical release in the U.S. fell through, and the film was ultimately released straight to video in 1989. As a result, The Caller never received the recognition it so richly deserved.

From the first minute to the last, the film grips its audience completely. The Caller feels like a top-tier stage play or an equally masterful television drama—a testament to Seidelman’s theatrical experience. For most of its 90-minute runtime, we watch just two characters confined to a single location, engaging in a strange game of cat and mouse. Not only is it unclear who is who, but the roles constantly shift, adding to the mystery. Madolyn Smith Osborne and Malcolm McDowell deliver deeply nuanced performances, bringing the story’s subtleties to life. The enigmatic plot keeps raising questions and intensifies the tension between the characters until the climax—one of the most surprising and inventive plot twists in cinema history, making M. Night Shyamalan’s tricks pale in comparison. Saying any more would be a disservice; suffice it to say, predicting the twist is nearly impossible. But if you want to try—good luck.