"WHEN A STRANGER CALLS understands that when alone and isolated in an unfamiliar place, an overactive imagination can be as frightening as any real threats. The film has little plot or action to speak of—a teenage girl gets creepy phone calls from an unknown man — but director Simon West builds the tension by delaying the showdown between heroine and villain. The director also is restrained in employing cheap "gotcha" moments, although, as is the case with these films, there will be at least one moment when a cat is responsbile for a false alarm." - Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema