Directed by: Simon West Written by: Jake Wade Wall Starring: Camilla Belle .... Jill Johnson Tommy Flanagan .... Stranger Tessa Thompson .... Scarlet Brian Gerghaty .... Bobby Release Date: Theatrical: February 3, 2005 Rating:

A teenage girl named Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is trying to break up with her old boyfriend Bobby (Brian Geraghty) and to carry on with her life. She gets a babysitting gig while two wealthy parents are away on business. She knows the security code to keep the doors locked at all times and has a neighbor to make sure things are okay so feels that she's safe. She gets a couple calls from her friends as they are at a bonfire while she is stuck babysitting but then she is getting a creepy phone call from a strange man (Tommy Flanagan) breathing heavily into the phone asking her strange questions. Her friend Scarlet (Tessa Thompson) pops by surprisingly to pay her a quick visit as she tells Jill that the garage door was left open. This spooks Jill as she was sure that everything was locked. When Scarlet leaves to go into her car she hears some strange sounds and suspect that someone is watching her. Meanwhile Jill still gets the prank phone calls from the strange man as she knows that he is watching every move she makes. She calls the police and then the police traces the stranger's calling. Then the police tells her that he is inside the house.

I have never seen a movie this scary in a long time. It's scarier than Scream trust me as the hpone calls int hose ones were trying to be scary but it was too hokey. This one is far from it as it's really dark and creepy. I really want to see the original 1979 TV movie by the same name now. The film keeps you on the edge of your seat as you expect when the phone rings that it's either the parent checking up on things or one of her friends which shows that too but then it's a stranger with a creepy voice. I think this is where R.L. Stine got his idea in the original TV movie for his 4 part young adult novels titled The Babysitter.

The acting is great. When I saw the acting it reminded me of those older horror films as I like that kind of style. Camilla Belle does well as the babysitter and her reactions to the phone calls are very effective. Tommy Flanagan as the stranger making the prank calls is nothing but sheer terror. I liked Tessa Thompson's role as the best friend who checks up on her as she shows good nature towards Belle's character. She does well when she panicks after hearing the sounds outside suspecting that something bad is happening.

Simon West is marvellous and knows how to make a film as scary as possible and succeeds to do so. He shows great framing with the scenery like the hallways and the outside of the house as well as the babysitter running around. He knew how to show Camilla's reactions to the phone ringing and was good at directing her emotions towards the caller. Two thumbs up. Good work Simon.

James Michael Dooley is superb as a composer as he knows how to have the creepy sound effects like you'd see in a Wes Craven flick. He has been a composer since 1999 and has worked extensively in tons of films.

There is a songtrack titled "Lock It!" performed by Faraci