When Michael Calls in TV Terrors Forum

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When Michael Calls

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strangenstein	When Michael Calls	Lead	[-]
Jul 12 10 3:18 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, after a long, loooooong wait (over 35 years!) I finally got to see WHEN MICHAELS CALLS again. Fox Movie Channel aired it last night and I dvr'd it. I remember watching it on TV in the early 70s and it really frightened me! I was 7 and too young to figure out the "mystery"; I was simply sucked into what I considered a terrifying movie. So how did it hold up all these years later? I'd say pretty well. The phone calls are still chilling and the mystery, while not difficult to figure out now, was still engrossing. This makes two movies this week that I've watched after not seeing them for over 30 years: When Michael Calls and Sssssss. There are a few other "made for TV" movies I haven't seen in many, many years, namely THE SCREAMING WOMAN and THE LONGEST NIGHT. Strangenstein
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Rakshasa		#1	[-]
Jul 13 10 2:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My comments from the "Favorite TV Movie" thread: When Michael Calls (1972) ~ I hadn't seen this since I was a kid. All I remembered about it were the creepy phone calls from the dead child. Well, I must say, I liked this a lot. Ben Gazzara is awesome (I've become a big fan of his in recent years after discovering John Cassavetes and his films) as are Elizabeth Ashley and Michael Douglas. Still scary as hell and the performances are top notch. Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758
ScareBear		#2	[-]
Jul 13 10 6:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sounds good. Need to dig this up.
Rakshasa		#3	[-]
Jul 13 10 9:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	ScareBear wrote: Sounds good. Need to dig this up. FYI ~ It is often listed under it's overseas title, Shattered Silence. Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758
grgstv338		#4	[-]
Jul 13 10 10:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	fyi, it's on YouTube (along with a bunch of other 1970s TV titles). Look here.
TheCreep		#5	[-]
Jul 15 10 12:35 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	strangenstein wrote: Well, after a long, loooooong wait (over 35 years!) I finally got to see WHEN MICHAELS CALLS again. Fox Movie Channel aired it last night and I dvr'd it. I remember watching it on TV in the early 70s and it really frightened me! I was 7 and too young to figure out the "mystery"; I was simply sucked into what I considered a terrifying movie. So how did it hold up all these years later? I'd say pretty well. The phone calls are still chilling and the mystery, while not difficult to figure out now, was still engrossing. This makes two movies this week that I've watched after not seeing them for over 30 years: When Michael Calls and Sssssss. There are a few other "made for TV" movies I haven't seen in many, many years, namely THE SCREAMING WOMAN and THE LONGEST NIGHT. Strangenstein It was on Fox the other night? Oh MAN...I feel cheated for missing this one. I too got to see it when I was about your age, maybe a year or two older (I'm 45 now) I liken the torment to the main character to that of Ray Milland's character in "Daughter Of The Mind," even though that film had it's differences. "The Screaming Woman" nuff' said..between that and "Don't be Afraid Of The Dark" it's a wonder I got any sleep as a kid.
Crow T Robot		#6	[-]
Jul 15 10 7:58 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's out on DVD under the title Shattered Silence. Not a great print though, kinda washed out, and it even has a couple of video glitches in it. But it is out there. Chances are the Fox Movie Channel showing had a better picture quality than the DVD. A very good movie. It was originally shown on Sunday night, and about 5 years later popped up on the ABC 4:30 Movie in the NY area when it was syndicated to local channels. Glad it is still being shown on TV today.
PhantomXCI		#7	[-]
Jul 15 10 10:02 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"Auntie my Helen". Still gives me the chills 35 years later.
Rakshasa		#8	[-]
Jul 15 10 10:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	PhantomXCI wrote: "Auntie my Helen". Still gives me the chills 35 years later. Totally! Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758
TheCreep		#9	[-]
Jul 15 10 10:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Crow T Robot wrote: It's out on DVD under the title Shattered Silence. Not a great print though, kinda washed out, and it even has a couple of video glitches in it. But it is out there. Chances are the Fox Movie Channel showing had a better picture quality than the DVD. A very good movie. It was originally shown on Sunday night, and about 5 years later popped up on the ABC 4:30 Movie in the NY area when it was syndicated to local channels. Glad it is still being shown on TV today. There were quite a few great movies that popped up on ABC back in those days..I remember "The Initiation Of Sarah", "The Screaming Woman", "Bad Ronald" and the myriad of 70's era car chase movies that popped up too, including "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" and Burt Reynolds in "W.W. And The Dixie Dance Kings." And, any one of us worth our weight in gold could never call ourselves TV kids if we didn't remember "Don't Be Afaraid Of The Dark" and "Trilogy Of Terror," or "Gargoyles!"
Crow T Robot		#10	[-]
Jul 15 10 10:55 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The scenes with Ben Gazarra and Karen Pearson who played his daughter have a real honesty to them. He acts like he has a real father / daughter bond with her. About the only thing I didn't like about the whole movie is those nerd glasses that Michael Douglas wears throughout the film, but that's just me being picky.
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TheCreep		#11	[-]
Jul 15 10 11:01 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Crow T Robot wrote: The scenes with Ben Gazarra and Karen Pearson who played his daughter have a real honesty to them. He acts like he has a real father / daughter bond with her. About the only thing I didn't like about the whole movie is those nerd glasses that Michael Douglas wears throughout the film, but that's just me being picky. Michael Douglas got to wear those nerdy glasses again in "Falling Down" a way back, but in terms of the type of character he played in that one, I think it was more in keeping with him. They were looking for that nerdy-wimpy type of guy that noone would ever take seriously.
Saturday8pm		#12	[-]
Jul 18 10 10:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I never saw this but I remember the teasers for it on "The ABC Movie of the Week". Someone put that up on YouTube® some time ago but pulled it. Dang! The best version of that intro we had, too. Many of these films were quite good, "Bad Ronald" being an example. "Lord I love Spring! The birds, the fair weather, the new flowers. It doesn't get any better than this. HOLY CRAP! what's THAT?!?"
MyDarkSide		#13	[-]
Jul 20 10 1:05 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm surprised someone like Mill Creek hasn't put together a set of Made For TV flicks in one package that are in PD...
aycorn		#14	[-]
Jul 20 10 11:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	PhantomXCI wrote: "Auntie my Helen". Still gives me the chills 35 years later. Agreed. The phone calls are truly creepy. I watched this the other night and "Michael's" scream when he says "I'm dead - aren't I?" really did make the hairs stand up on my neck. Also agree about Ben Gazzara/daughter scenes. Otherwise, it's pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. Enjoyable, though.
Rakshasa		#15	[-]
Jul 21 10 7:17 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	When I was a kid, it was the phone calls that stopped my blood cold. Also chilling is when she finally sees "Michael" standing there in the yard. I thought my heart was going to stop! Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758
strangenstein		#16	[-]
Jul 27 10 6:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Rakshasa wrote: When I was a kid, it was the phone calls that stopped my blood cold. Also chilling is when she finally sees "Michael" standing there in the yard. I thought my heart was going to stop! Hi Rak, I watched this again last night, this time with my 14 year-old daughter. Whenever a movie scares her she won't stop talking, and she was jabbering up a storm last night----except whenever the phone rang, then she got very quiet. WHEN MICHAEL CALLS still has the power to raise a few goosebumps!
TheCreep		#17	[-]
Aug 3 10 12:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	strangenstein wrote: [quote="Rakshasa"]When I was a kid, it was the phone calls that stopped my blood cold. Also chilling is when she finally sees "Michael" standing there in the yard. I thought my heart was going to stop! strangenstein wrote: Hi Rak, I watched this again last night, this time with my 14 year-old daughter. Whenever a movie scares her she won't stop talking, and she was jabbering up a storm last night----except whenever the phone rang, then she got very quiet. WHEN MICHAEL CALLS still has the power to raise a few goosebumps! Hi Strangenstein. You make a good point about your daughter talking. When I was scared of a movie I would talk too, and my father would get all out of shape and give the old "If you're not watching it I'm gonna' turn the @&^%'n channel" bit. But that's what you get when your father was a worthless boozehound. The point I'm making is that the talking was a way for your daughter (and myself) to let off the steam built up by being scared, and at our repsective ages, it was the only way we knew how to deal with the fear. There again, in my case, I was more scared of my father than I was trying to survive the Night Of The Living Dead*... Last Edited By: TheCreep Aug 3 10 1:00 PM. Edited 1 times.
Saturday8pm		#18	[-]
Feb 21 12 2:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"Lord I love Spring! The birds, the fair weather, the new flowers. It doesn't get any better than this. HOLY CRAP! what's THAT?!?"
kochillt		#19	[-]
Feb 21 12 3:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Watched this a few weeks back, then learned shortly after about the death of Ben Gazzara. Eerie.
Rakshasa		#20	[-]
Feb 21 12 3:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow, that was excellent. "Auntie My Hellen, I"m DEAD!!!!!!!!" Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758
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