History YMMV / WhenAStrangerCalls

** It doesn't end there. Jill's best friend Scarlett is played by future ''Film/{{Creed}}'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' star Creator/TessaThompson in her film debut.

** [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Agent Coulson]] is Jill's dad.
** Coulson's not the only superhero in the remake, either. Tiffany is Creator/KatieCassidy, aka [[Series/{{Arrow}} the Black Canary]].

** Albeit as a voice only, [[Creator/LanceHenriksen The Stranger]] is voiced by [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare General Shepherd]]. But when he does appear in the flesh, [[Creator/TommyFlanagan The Stranger]] is played by [[Series/SonsOfAnarchy Chibs Telford]].

* PoorMansSubstitute: It's pretty obvious that television composer Dana Kaproff is trying to emulate Music/JerryGoldsmith along side some scoring methods that also predates Music/JamesHorner's early eighties horror film works such as ''Film/{{Wolfen}}'', ''Film/DeadlyBlessing'' or ''Film/TheHand'' in his score for the 1979 film.

** Coulson's not the only superhero in the remake, either. Tiffany is Katie Cassidy, aka [[Series/{{Arrow}} the Black Canary]].

** Creator/DiannaAgron is an unaccredited extra as a cheerleader, a couple of years before playing [[Series/{{Glee}} Quinn Fabray]].

** Albeit as a voice only, [[Creator/LanceHenriksen The Stranger]] is voiced by [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare General Shepherd]]. But when he does appear in the flesh, [[Creator/TommyFlanagan The Stranger]] is played by [[Series/SonsOfAnarchy Chibs Telford.]]

* FirstInstalmentWins: The film's iconic first act (the babysitter alone getting TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse) is far more vividly remembered and positively received than the rest of the film.

* CryForTheDevil: Most people forget that the original continued beyond the twenty-two minute mark, and was just gushing with this.

** It doesn't end there. Jill's best friend Scarlett is played by future ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' star Creator/TessaThompson in her film debut.

* CompleteMonster: The Stranger is a SerialKiller who stalks, terrifies and eventually murders young women [[Main/ForTheEvulz just for the joy of it]]. He prefers to target babysitters, having no compunction about killing the children they’re watching over either. He kills a random babysitter and two kids on the other side of town, then preys on Jill for the rest of the film, killing her best friend Tiffany in the proces. He's eventually stopped and arrested, but the trauma from the experience is so great that Jill suffers a psychotic break, dreaming that the Stranger is still there to torment her.

* OlderThanTheyThink: The "TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse" trope was not invented by this movie, but ''Film/BlackChristmas1974''.
** And it was an urban legend before that, too.

* CompleteMonster: The Stranger is a SerialKiller who stalks, terrifies and eventually murders young women just for the joy of it. He prefers to target babysitters, having no compunction about killing the children they’re watching over either. He kills a random babysitter and two kids on the other side of town, then preys on Jill for the rest of the film, killing her best friend Tiffany in the proces. He's eventually stopped and arrested, but the trauma from the experience is so great that Jill suffers a psychotic break, dreaming that the Stranger is still there to torment her.

* ParanoiaFuel: These films basically play on the fear of a) being alone in someone else's house, and b) unusual noises inside said house.

* CompleteMonster: The Stranger. He stalks, terrifies and eventually murders young women just for the joy of it. And the children too.

* CompleteMonster: The Stranger. He stalks, terrifies and eventually murders young women just for the joy of it.

* CompleteMonster: The Stranger.

* ParanoiaFuel

* CompleteMonster: The Stranger, especially in the remake. He stalks and terrifies young women for ''hours'' before brutally murdering them [[ForTheEvulz just for the hell of it]].

* ItWasHisSled: TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse was originally a shocking twist. The [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil trailer for the remake]] completely spoils this, as well.