A slow burner that perhaps is more deserving of the theatrical experience than VOD, The Calling is a handsomely lensed thriller set towards the end of winter in a grey town in the Province of Ontario. At the center of the mystery is Susan Sarandon as Hazel Micallef, a detective in the small, sleepy town of Fort Dundas, leading the regional police command with partner Detective Ray Green (Gil Bellows). Discovering the body of a dear friend, Hazel proceeds to solve the murder without much help from her counterparts in Toronto. That is until a young officer, Ben Wingate (Topher Grace) arrives on the scene. He’s transferred from Toronto to the quiet town after the death of his “partner” — no, not his partner on the force.
The Calling is richly detailed, a unique grey wrapper on what would otherwise be an excitedly boring run-of-the-mill thriller. Directed with style and subtlety by first time feature filmmaker Jason Stone (whose previous works include collaborations with Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen), it lacks the ambitions that went untamed in the similar atmospheric small-town Ontario tale, Ed Gass-Donnelly’s Small Town Murder Songs. The Calling contains familiar beats that students of the horror genre will most likely grow tiresome of, yet its performances are far richer and more nuanced than many contemporary horror films that play with religious themes. Investing in character development, Stone and writer Scott Abramovich have created memorably characters, even if we’ve seen this story before.
I suppose for a horror thriller such as this it comes down the basic question of if it worked and held my attention. The visuals require an immersive theatrical experience, while the story itself is the weakest part of this package. All of the elements arrive right on time, including Father Price (Donald Sutherland) as a Latin translator. Discovering nine of the victims were mouthing something, the investigators conclude the syllables add up to a Latin phrase. Perhaps the fatal flaw is how The Calling establishes its serial killer: he’s known to the audience. If he remained unknown, the identity may appear to come as a cheap shot, but instead we spend time waiting for Hazel and Ray to piece it together. The deficiency of The Calling is we are ahead of these characters, while its saving grace is the atmosphere and performances. Fargo it is not, but as the smoke clears, it appears The Calling has too little to say despite playing with interesting themes.
The Calling is now in theaters and available on VOD.