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Don't Believe the Hype

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Okay-at-best psycho on the loose pic is pretty standard fare with few if any surprises. James Westmoreland does a serviceable job in the lead as a composed detective hunting a certified nut-job who's strangling (and then some) vulnerable women and phoning in his conquests to a local psychiatrist's (Gerrish) radio programme.Worth is hyper-maniacal in the antagonist role, his hulking appearance fulfilling the intimidation quotient well, whilst a few familiar faces (Haze, Frank et al) round out a capable cast. Contrary to other reviewer's remarks, I personally didn't have a problem with Westmoreland's performance nor did I think Worth was especially remarkable in his characterisation; they and the rest of the cast manage with some fairly drab dialogue padding out what is essentially, a paper thin plot (if you excised the pointless scene fillers, DATP would barely make theatrical length). DATP just seems like a run of the mill slasher pic with all the typical elements, including nudity, sadism, nurse stalking, PTSD, some occasional light humour (check out the brothel scene which was a laugh) and every other cliché you've ever seen in films of the ilk. A pretty good example of where the title attracts attention that the film itself can't sustain. Very average.

So i was up last night at some ungodly hour and this flick comes on straight out of 1980 about a big, huge guy who strangles the life out of sexy woman in L.A. It's called "Don't answer the Phone" and it stands out at being violent, sexy, and scary. This film caught my eye for two reasons, first off the killer is wearing an Airborne/paratrooper jacket in the movie, which seems to fit extremely well with a "Ed Parker" Kempo Karate patch on the right shoulder. Second, the flesh. Every five minutes some Extreme hottie gets squeezed to dirt, its a ninety minute flesh parade of death and desire dealt out in a lethal, one-sided manner. There's almost no blood to be seen, just lots of strangulation and domination. It's slightly reminiscent of "Maniac" the classic that catapulted Joe Spinell to fame for his role as the bloodthirsty woman butcher. There both excellent pieces of cinema that pushed the genre into cold, tension filled depths, AND they both came out the same year. I'm starting to love Hollywood b-genre, bit actors. Nicholas Worth, Brion Johnson, Joe Spinell and Robert Z'dar round out some of my favorites in this weird, forgotten genre. Ten stars.

Remember the deliberately cheesy slasher movie parody that comprises the first five minutes of Brian DePalma's "Blow Out?" The libidinous airheads, the wheezing psycho, the wretched synthesizer score? Well, "Don't Answer the Phone" is the real thing. Seriously. For all I know DePalma actually had this movie in mind when he made "Blow Out," which hit theaters less than a year afterward.As a movie, there's not much to recommend. The plot is by the numbers: sicko breaking into homes killing women, leaving clues with a talk show host, pursued by police so over-the-top retarded that they kill the only witness they have, so far, to the crimes. The script is abysmal. The lead characters are not remotely likable or realistic. The top cop is a guy so obnoxious, stone-faced, and stupid that you are actually rooting for the psycho to beat the hell out of him in the climax. The actor playing him, James Westmoreland, doesn't seem to get the joke --- it's one of the most wooden monotone performances I've ever seen. I've heard some say Flo Gerrish is redeemable in the shrink role...sorry, I've seen better hand-wringing in C-grade soaps.Then...there's the late Nicholas Worth who always manages to bring something extra to nearly every role he's in...which is usually always a beefy menacing henchmen for someone or other. He, too, bears with some of the triteness of the script: the religious "wacko" overtones, the mix of maniacal sobbing and raging. But he, unlike the rest of the clueless droolers he's sharing the screen with, actually strikes a nerve, particularly in the murder scenes.So what's different about these scenes, you may ask, from all the assault scenes you've seen before? Well, Worth just seems to really be embodying this role, to the point that it's uncomfortable to watch. He possesses this character's sadism to a point where you wonder how he could really separate fantasy from reality. He's a very good method actor. At the start of the picture, his most chilling bullying is verbal, but near the end of the film, in the murder of the two roommates, his hatred is palpable. And the end of the film, where he faces off with Gerrish, brings an energy and intensity with it that is frankly one of the most frightening displays of rage I've ever seen on film.It's Worth alone that saves this dismal little drive-in dud. He elevates this movie to a level of disturbing that it doesn't remotely have the right to earn.

Some of the old Grindhouse movies leave you wanting to take a shower after it's all said and done. Many of the films of this nature ("Maniac", "The Toolbox Murders", "Don't Go in the House") are just ugly beasts. They are vicious, questionable, possibly misogynistic, and all around scuzzy, like a man trying to pick a fight with you. Yet, several of these movies have an undeniable edge to them, thanks to strong performances, a pervasive, dread filled ambiance and a look and professional feel to them. One of the movies of this era that almost joins the ranks of these movies is Robert Hammer's nasty but all around flawed 1980 film "Don't Answer the Phone!" A deeply disturbed Vietnam veteran named Kirk Smith (Nicholas Worth) has taken a shining to strangling scantily clad women in Los Angeles, all while taunting a young psychologist named Lindsey Gale (Flo Lawrence) on the radio. Can Lt. Chris McCabe (James Westmoreland) stop this deranged lunatic? From the get go, "Don't Answer the Phone" is a rough little movie. It's not the goriest movie, but the murder scenes are queasy, voyeuristic and all around sadistic, making the viewer feel very uncomfortable, which is clearly the intent. That out of the way, Worth does a great job as the psychopath. A veteran character actor, he really bites into the role, creating the portrait of a man you wouldn't want to run into for many reasons. Byron Allred contributes a great old school electronic score which complements the sleazy proceedings quite well.Sadly, that's were the good aspects end. The movie ends up suffering from several flaws, such as the misplaced comic relief. For a movie that wants to provoke and offend sensibilities so much, it almost feels like it's afraid it will go too far, and ends up using poorly timed comic relief to pad things out. It also doesn't help that the other performances are pretty weak, and don't really offer anything as far as characters are concerned. Gail in particular is a weak character-a stereotypical, weak liberal type who doesn't stand a chance without the help of the more conservative cop characters. Even the direction feels lackluster. While other movies of this nature were pretty questionable, they at least felt like they were under capable hands. This just feels like a jumbled mess from a director whose unsure of himself.In the end, "Don't Answer the Phone" is a movie caught between two worlds: it wants to be a grim psychological study, but it doesn't seem very sure of itself. It's an ultimately uneven viewing experience that might be of interest to those curious of what kind of movies played in the likes of 42nd Street back in the day, but if you already know what kind of exploitation fair was shown back in the day, then you probably don't need to see this, as there are better examples.