The Calling (2014)

Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Fort Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.

Director:

Jason Stone

Writers:

Scott Abramovitch, Michael Redhill (novel) (as Inger Ash Wolfe)

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows, Ellen Burstyn

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Sarandon	...	Hazel Micallef
Gil Bellows	...	Detective Ray Green
Ellen Burstyn	...	Emily Micallef
Topher Grace	...	Ben Wingate
Donald Sutherland	...	Father Price
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Simon
Kevin Parent	...	Spere
Katy Breier	...	Melanie Cartwright
Paulino Nunes	...	Officer Mathieson
Ted Whittall	...	Ian Mason
Amanda Brugel	...	Officer Vongarner
John Ralston	...	Andrew Pederson
Natalie Radford	...	Glynnis Pederson
Alex Poch-Goldin	...	Bob Chandler
Ella Ballentine	...	Rose Batten

Storyline

Hazel Micallef is the senior officer in the Fort Dundas, Ontario Police Department. Once having tried to commit suicide and a resulting chronic back injury are the reasons she will never be promoted, the position of Commanding Officer, of which she is acting, having been vacant for some time. Hazel self-medicates to dull the emotional and physical pain. Relatively young and inexperienced but enthusiastic Ben Wingate transferring from the Toronto Police Department to join her and the only other detective, Ray Green, coincides with the first homicide in Fort Dundas in four years, the victim aged Delia Chandler, a friend of Hazel's mother, retired judge Emily Micallef with who single Hazel lives. Delia's throat was slit, but the coroner is able to determine that the murderer posed Delia's mouth post-mortem, with the time for rigor mortis to set in meaning that he/she had to hold the mouth in place for upwards of an hour. With two subsequent murders in nearby communities with similar oral...

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Plot Keywords:

prescription drugs | alcoholic cop | serial killer | house fire | bouquet | 

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Taglines:

Pray for the Prey

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content, disturbing images and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Simon (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Grace Batten (Kristin Booth) first meet in the diner where Grace works, it's the Bright Spot Restaurant on Main Street East in Hamilton.

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Goofs

In the game and movie of Clue, there's a character named Professor Plum, not Professor Plume as he is referred to in this movie.

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Quotes

Emily Micallef: [at Hazel's hospital bed side] You look terrible.
Hazel Micallef: Yeah. It's better than dead.
Emily Micallef: Much better.

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Connections

References Clue (1985)

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Soundtracks

Winter Sets In
Written and Performed by Mark Petrie

User Reviews

Serial Killing for Salvation

Set in the wintry rural wasteland of Canada, 'The Calling' could be the bastard child of 'Fargo' and 'Omen'. The film begins with depressed, alcoholic, pill-popping Sheriff Hazel roused from her suicidal daydreams by the mutilated corpse of an elderly female acquaintance. After Hazel discovers several other mutilated remains have been scattered around the frozen countryside, she begins to suspect a deranged serial killer is on the prowl in her precinct. Scoffed at by her superior, she marshals the small town's oddball duo of police officers and their perky receptionist to catch themselves a predator. Before too long, Hazel and her team are sipping strong black coffee in their cruisers and detecting like big city gumshoes.

The script reveals some glaring holes as Hazel's investigations uncover an occult connection linking the killings, but decent acting papers over some of these threadbare patches. When a few of the loose ends are tied up at the conclusion, the killer turns out to be a routine lunatic, and the rationale for his murderous activities is the standard silliness for this genre of film.

Details

Country:

USA Canada UK

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

5 August 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Calling

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$189,254

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stage 6 Films, Manis Film, Breaking Ball Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color