This Terrifying and Overlooked Made-for-Television Horror Classic is Free to Stream
Scream got a lot of mileage out of landline telephones. While the series has been adapting to new technologies with every subsequent entry (Ghostface can text now), nothing ever quite captures the magic of the landline. That silly little phone in your kitchen tethered to the wall, the one with the cord your mom would twirl in her finger while shushing you—she’s on the phone. Scream wasn’t the first horror movie to render pretty familiar tech terrifying, though it arguably did it the best.
When a Stranger Calls is an earlier example, even if its phone call thrills were limited almost exclusively to its pretty sensational cold open (before it all goes downhill). Out of the Dark was a grimy, sexy reinvention, pitting phone sex workers against a crazed serial killer, and of course, The Ring famously dialed in to let you know you had just seven days to live. But one of the best (and earliest) is no doubt Philip Leacock’s When Michael Calls. It’s terrifying and quiet, the kind of horror movie that succeeds on atmosphere alone. With the film streaming free on Plex, check out one of the scariest made-for-television movies ever made.
Per Plex: Helen starts to receive calls from a child who claims to be her nephew Michael–but Michael died 15 years ago. When Michael calls, he berated Helen’s acquaintances, who then die under suspicious circumstances. Helen soon begins to fear that she will be the next victim.
When assembling my list of the greatest made-for-television horror movies of all time, I wrote of When Michael Calls, “Philip Leacock’s direction is so masterful, so finely-tuned and drenched with dread, that even though you know how this is going to end, something about Michael’s ostensible clairvoyance, his ability to conceivably control things from beyond the grave, the way Leacock’s camera tilts and pans to disorient the view, makes you question your own sanity.” Even today, just the thought of “Auntie, my Helen” sends a chill down my spine.
While When Michael Calls might lack the flair and style of more contemporary horror movies, the stripped-down approach to domestic terror is chilling in its realism. I remain incredulous that this movie isn’t more regularly regarded as a classic in the genre. My parents both recount being terrified of the film growing up, and I can’t blame them. This is genuinely chilling stuff.
Now that When Michael Calls is streaming free online, make sure to check it out. Let me know what you think, whether it’s a first-time watch or a revisit, over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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