Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) is the detective superintendent of the small quiet town of Fort Dundas, Ontario, Canada. She likes her liquor and pills. She's recovering from back problems and OD hospitalization. Her mother (Ellen Burstyn) is concerned. She finds an elder almost decapitated. It's the first murder in four years. Detective Ray Green (Gil Bellows) asks for outside help but she rejects the concern. Ben Wingate (Topher Grace) is the new deputy arriving from Toronto. Another murder occurs in a nearby jurisdiction and they're called in. The victim's stomach has been removed and fed to the dogs. Hazel asks for help fearing a serial killer but is rejected. As more victims are uncovered, they find their mouths have been manipulated and Father Price (Donald Sutherland) is consulted. Meanwhile, a waitress (Kristin Booth) invites a mystery man (Christopher Heyerdahl) to her home to treat her terribly ill daughter.This cast is surprisingly first rate for a small Canadian serial killer movie. It has a quiet moodiness similar to those Scandinavian killing films. It does have a bit of humor which differentiates it and gives it its Canadianishness. It's an enticing serial killer movie even if it's a little slow. There isn't any mystery as the killer is shown early on. It is very questionable that this small town police officer is hopping across the country without contacting the local cops. The murders are not maximum compelling due to the cooperating victims. The big time cast keeps it interesting but it's not quite the moody indie thriller it hopes to be. The last act is over-extended. The killer returns back to the town which erases one of the killing's premise. All in all, it's a flawed but interesting film.

THE CALLING is a mid budget Canadian serial killer thriller that seems to have been conceived as a complete rip-off of FARGO, with Susan Sarandon playing another ageing female cop who has been directly modelled on Frances McDormand in that film. The hunt is on for a serial killer with a bizarre modus operandi, but the viewer is given the killer's identity early on, leaving the rest a pointless exercise in water-treading.The film has a bland look to it and not much in the way of atmosphere. It kept me watching but I never felt as involved in the story as I should. Sarandon is okay but seems a bit tired, although those in support such as Gil Bellows and Donald Sutherland give solid turns. There's some mild gruesomeness but the killer is a bit subdued and the religious theme was done better in a little-seen SEVEN rip-off I really dig called RESURRECTION.

A viewer can see why this Canadian production really did not get much release in the U.S. The plot is as derivative as any serial killer movie today, with the "Fargo" knock-off setting and the misdirection too familiar. Is it about a serial killer? Yes, but really it is about the psychological hang-ups and strained relationships of its lead characters. As one reviewer mentioned, there are enough plot lines and character setups to fill at least a miniseries, but in a 107 minute movie, they just quell any momentum.Sarandon was saddled with a terribly underwritten lead character; she has virtually nothing to do in the film except look tired and over-matched. There are no redeeming qualities to this character and I found myself somewhat disappointed when the twist ending left her alive. Had she been the twelfth victim as the plot clearly leads us to believe, at least there would have been a point to her character.Still, I have a soft spot for any thriller, no matter how meek, that is set in a snowy small town with quirky characters. It is almost always good to see Ellen Burstyn (the remake of "The Wicker Man" is the reason for "almost")and Topher Grace does a nice job as the green cop. Christopher Heyerdahl was creepy as the killer and could have done more if his part had been better written as well.Overall, not something I will re-watch, but for fans of this sort of slow burn serial killer stuff, an OK attempt.

Before viewing 2014's The Calling, I did some research on whether or not it had a theatrical release. It did but the screen count was so small that nothing in terms of box office receipts, even registered. Basically, what's being reviewed here is yet again another generically titled thriller (isn't The Calling a band?) with a real good cast and a novice, unknown director to go along with it. That smells like straight- to-DVD right out of the gate. Time to plug in the microwave and fire up the Pop Secret. It's movie night people!Shot entirely in Ontario, Canada, taking place in Ontario, Canada (the town of Fort Dundas to be exact) and having virtually no actors/actresses with any smidgen of a Canadian accent, The Calling subjugates itself as a serial killer vehicle mixing religious mumbo jumbo with the vanity arc of Jack Kevorkian. The proceedings begin by establishing a main character who is an alcoholic, pill-popping, suicidal policewoman (one of the all-time most used cop movie clichés in the book, the protagonist who is quote unquote "battling demons"). Susan Sarandon (as Hazel Micallef) plays said deputy. She lives with her mother, goes through a daily routine where virtually no crime ever occurs in her precinct, and shares her job with a rather pessimistic fellow detective (Ray Green played by Gil Bellows). She also works with a secretary (Katy Breier as Melanie Cartright) who basically exists to answer phones and break the tension by lightening the mood (another heavily used cop movie cliché, I looked it up).As things progress, a series of murders occurs in Fort Dundas (the first set of them in four years) prompting detective Micallef to sense that it's the same person who committed all of them. She eventually acquires a new partner in Ben Wingate (Topher Grace) and so begins an investigation about a killer who is believed to have an interesting set of motives. When this person dispatches their victims, their mouths are left wide open. And along with this sicko's overly creepy MO, the crime scenes involved, are at times uniquely gruesome (a women's neck is virtually cut clean through, a man's stomach is extracted from him and thrown to a bunch of dogs, another dead man lies in a trailer park bed with a serious case of rigor mortis setting in, oy vey!).Essentially, this is a routine thriller that borrows heavily from stuff like 1995's Se7en (the whole crime scene aftermath thing occurs without Se7en's haunting film score) and Fargo (the wintry setting, the identical looking police uniforms, the exterior shots that if you squint hard enough, look as if you're actually watching the Coen brothers 1996 Oscar nominee). There are some effectively chilling moments and I like the fact that "Calling" is a slow burning exercise that really takes its time. However, the antagonist is revealed way too early (Simon played by Christopher Heyerdahl who looks like a cross between a bloodshot Woody Harrelson and Jeff Daniels) and when you find out that his victims actually want to die, well the creepiness and mystery (that existed early on) eventually become a non-factor. As for "Calling's" ending, I won't reveal what happens but I will tell that what's on screen is laughable. It's tacked on and provides a mild shock. But really, it just feels like the filmmakers ran out of fresh ideas.In conclusion, The Calling has decent acting and is passable for a weekend rental (or you could save five dollars by watching Criminal Minds reruns instead). At a running time of 108 minutes, I would "call" 40-45 of them worthy. Result: 2 and a half stars.