Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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

soulexpress When I saw the Crown International Pictures logo, I expected the worst. But to my surprise, DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! wasn't bad. In fact, it's the best Crown International feature I've ever seen--though that isn't saying much for the studio that foisted THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN on us.It's the story of two police detectives tracking down a serial killer who can only ejaculate as he strangles a woman to death. The killer becomes obsessed with a radio talk-show psychologist, which leads to his downfall. Nicholas Worth, who played the killer, turned in a highly convincing portrayal of an unhinged man with severe PTSD--over both childhood trauma and combat in Vietnam. I also liked James Westmoreland as Detective Chris McCabe, the lead officer in the investigation, and Flo Gerrish as the beleaguered Dr. Lindsay Gale.By today's standards, DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! is rife with sexism and misogyny. But this was 1980, and I try not to judge the past by latter-day standards.

Rainey Dawn OK I thought, was hoping, this film was more in the vein of "When A Stranger Calls (1979)" but it's nothing like that. This one is just a boring slasher film - nothing more.The killer is laughable - the way he grunts why lifting weights is just too funny and annoying at the same time. The characters are flat & unappealing. This is one of those films you just want everyone to die very quickly to get the film over with - yes it's that bad.There is plenty of blood, nudity and sexual content so if you are looking for a slasher film that contains those elements then you might like this one. Otherwise pass this film by. 1/10

Leofwine_draca DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! is a serial killer thriller that makes up for a lack of gore and bloodshed with a really sleazy atmosphere that gives it a low-down gritty feel. This is one of the most interesting films to be released by low budget purveyors Crown International Pictures, and it's the first one I've watched from the studio that has real power.It's reasonable to expect DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! to be a dud, because many of the elements in the film simply aren't very good. The plotting is haphazard and the police investigation stuff is really boring. The majority of the cast give stilted performances and the scripting is sub par too. The whole film has a scuzzy, on-the-street type look to it that makes it very much a product of its era.The film has a single saving grace in the form of Nicholas Worth, who plays the killer. Worth was a long-time B-movie veteran and this is the performance of his career. His crazed maniac goes around slaughtering women while at the same time praying to the spirit of his stepfather and going off on incredibly entertaining spiels that were by all accounts ad-libbed by the actor. I've always liked Worth and his performance here is the stuff of greatness; sad, then, that due to the film's subject matter it is a role that remains unseen and unappreciated by most.

Scott LeBrun Writer / producer / director Robert Hammer delivers the sleaze in a big way in this, his sole fictional feature credit. Inspired by the real-life Hillside Strangler murders, it stars James Westmoreland ("Stacey") and Ben Frank ("Death Wish II") as two police detectives searching for a maniacal rapist-murderer, played to the hilt by the late, great character actor Nicholas Worth. Worth plays Kirk Smith, a photographer by trade who in between his depraved killings likes to phone a radio psychologist named Lindsay Gale (Flo Gerrish). Filmed largely guerrilla style in approximately 18 days, "Don't Answer the Phone" gets off to a great start; we're introduced to Smith right away, and then witness him knocking off a young nurse. The cast features some exquisitely sexy young ladies, including Playboy Playmate Pamela Jean Bryant, Susanne Severeid ("Van Nuys Blvd."), actress / composer Gail Jensen (writer of the theme to 'The Fall Guy'), Paula Warner, and Dale Kalberg. Appreciably, Hammer makes sure these ladies are unclothed or partially unclothed at some point. Trash film fans will also note the films' rather mean-spirited tone. Still, this wouldn't be nearly as effective as it is were it not for Worth, who's absolutely priceless, improvising some amazing monologues and coming up with the whole "Ramon" routine on his own. Westmoreland is a self-assured, macho lead and Frank very affable as his sidekick. The supporting cast has other recognizable actors such as Denise Galik ("Humanoids from the Deep"), Stan Haze ("Alligator"), Gary Allen ("Alice Sweet Alice"), and Chris Wallace ("New Year's Evil"); co-writer Michael Castle has a funny comedy relief role as an obnoxious lab man, and be sure to look out for the appearances by Don Lake as the man in plastic and Chuck "Porky" Mitchell as a pornographer. With a hilarious electronic score by Byron Allred of the Steve Miller Band on the soundtrack, this may play out with an accent on the sick and the sordid, but it does take the time out for some humour, such as the commotion that erupts in the massage parlour. The finale is enjoyably brutal stuff and culminates in what is far and away the best line in the whole thing. Overall, it's pretty enjoyable. Eight out of 10.