Kids are kind of dumb. Remember when you and your friends thought it was funny to prank call the police, not realizing they could see the number and easily call you back? That’s mostly innocuous, but it was also a rite of passage. I’m not sure the adolescent phase of prank calling still endures or not, but since the advent of home telephones, kids and teens loved picking up the phone and pranking friends and foes alike. The entire Scream franchise is basically the most terrifying prank call in history (except it’s no joke).
The phenomenon wasn’t just limited to the 1980s and 1990s, either. Way back in 1965, William Castle directed Joan Crawford in I Saw What You Did, a cheap yet fantastic thriller about two young girls pranking random numbers, calling and saying, “I saw what you did, and I know who you are.” Unfortunately, one such prank call goes through to a man who recently murdered his wife. It’s great yet obscure stuff, and one of Crawford’s final worthwhile roles. And what you might not know is that Fred Walton (When a Stranger Calls, April Fool’s Day) directed a fantastic made-for-television remake. Now, it’s streaming free.
Per Mubi: Two teens, Lisa and Kim, are playing games making prank calls on the phone. But when they call Adrian Lancer who has some mental problems, and say “I saw what you did”, they ignite a human time bomb. Adrian has just killed someone and thinks they saw him do it.
Walton’s I Saw What You Did is streaming free on YouTube, and you can check out the film in full here. It’s a hoot. The cast is full of recognizable faces, including familiar horror face Shawnee Smith and a young Candace Cameron (Full House). Walton’s remake isn’t quite as sleazy as Castle’s original, and it doesn’t go quite as hard as another made-for-television shocker, 1982’s Don’t Go to Sleep, but there’s still a lot to love. Oh, and it didn’t win an Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for nothing. I know who you are, and I saw how good your movie looks.
Writing for Bloody Disgusting, Paul Lé wrote of the remake, “Walton keeps a tight rein on I Saw What You Did, never straying from the story right in front of him. Over the course of his career, Walton has shown a flair for manifesting people’s fear of the unknown and disrupting complacency. Marry that with Cidre’s perceptive study of teen girls and the social pressures they live under, and this remake is more involving than its basic premise would suggest.”
It’s a fantastic remake, despite its flaws, and more than worth checking out. It’s like the ideal Saturday night thriller. So, make like it’s 1988 and give I Saw What You Did a look.
What do you think? Any plans to check out I Saw What You Did? If you do, let me know what you think over on Twitter @Chadiscollins, but don’t prank call me. Please.
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