Throughout the opening segment, director Fred Walton gradually increases the feeling of suspense by making each subsequent phone call ring a bit louder than the previous one. They escalate from eerie to jarring and finally infuriating.
Fred Walton originally shot this film as a short entitled 'The Sitter', which was essentially the opening 20 minutes of 'When A Stranger Calls'. However after the huge success of Halloween (1978) Walton saw the potential of expanding the short into a full-length feature. The script was then expanded into a feature length film about the pursuit of villain Curt Duncan.
The original teaser trailers gave away the shock twist ending, as well as all the other plot points in the movie.
Tony Beckley was terminally ill throughout the production; because of this, he did not fit the description of the killer but Director Fred Walton refused to recast him as they were good friends. Beckley passed away just after the principal photography was shot. Walton dedicated the sequel When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) to the memory of Beckley.
In an interview for the film, Carol Kane stated that when she watched the film in the theater, people were screaming and talking to the screen during the iconic opening 20 minutes.
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