Movie

The Caller

1987 · 97 min

A claustrophobic two-hander that keeps you guessing with shifting stories, building unease until a bizarre reveal.

Directed by: Arthur Allan Seidelman
Genres: Mystery, Science fiction, Thriller
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Madolyn Smith Osborne

Tagline: A strange visitor. A mysterious woman. A surprise ending...
Overview: One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: The Caller

Stream in the UK

Amazon Prime Video

More options Data from JustWatch

Directed by: Arthur Allan Seidelman
Genres: Mystery, Science fiction, Thriller
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Madolyn Smith Osborne

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: tensestrength 3 of 3
eeriestrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
absurdstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: deception
isolation
identity
conspiracy
survival
Places: single country house
wilderness
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: twist ending
single location
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	2
Horror	5
Humour	2
Realism	3
Romance	1
Tension	8
Darkness	7
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	6

Titles like The Caller

Movie

Ex Machina

2014

A cool, cerebral chamber piece that tightens like a wire, blending quiet philosophical unease with sudden, unsettling violence.

Tense, eerie, slow-burn · about deception and isolation · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
deception
isolation
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 108 min

Details

Ex MachinaHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

10 Cloverfield Lane

2016

A tight, clammy pressure-cooker that keeps you guessing whether the danger is outside or sitting across the dinner table.

Tense, eerie, slow-burn · about deception and isolation · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
deception
isolation
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 104 min

Details

10 Cloverfield LaneHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Psycho

1960

A slow-building, unsettling experience that tightens its grip with eerie atmosphere and a shocking twist.

Tense, eerie · about deception and isolation · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
deception
isolation
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 109 min

Details

PsychoHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Game

1997

A tense, twisty thriller that keeps you guessing and unsettled, blurring reality and paranoia until the final reveal.

Tense, eerie · about deception and isolation · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
deception
isolation
twist ending
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 129 min

Details

The GameHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

I Am Mother

2019

A tense, claustrophobic chamber piece that slowly reveals its unsettling truths, keeping you guessing until the final twist.

Tense, eerie, slow-burn · about isolation and identity · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
isolation
identity
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 113 min

Details

I Am MotherHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Vivarium

2019

A suffocating, surreal descent into domestic horror that feels like a waking nightmare of endless suburbia.

Tense, eerie, slow-burn · about isolation and identity · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
isolation
identity
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 99 min

Details

VivariumHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Backrooms

2026

A slow descent into a surreal, endless maze that feels like a waking nightmare, blending psychological dread with moments of bizarre horror.

Tense, eerie, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · twist ending

Via: tense
eerie
isolation
survival
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 111 min

Details

BackroomsHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Exit 8

2025

A hypnotic, unsettling loop through sterile corridors that demands sharp attention and rewards it with quiet dread and a surprisingly tender emotional core.

Tense, eerie, slow-burn · about isolation and identity · twist ending