SummaryDetective Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Port 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.
Directed By:Jason Stone
Written By:Scott Abramovitch, Michael Redhill
The Calling
Metascore
Mixed or Average
46
User score
Mixed or Average
5.8
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
27% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
45% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
27% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Aug 28, 2014
70
The Calling is an absorbing, solidly crafted procedural thriller with a terrific lead turn by Susan Sarandon.
Aug 28, 2014
67
The Calling shares a little too much with atmospheric TV mysteries like "The Killing" and "Broadchurch": the hard-living female detective, the cloudy weather, the small-town existentialism.
User score
Mixed or Average
23% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
69% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Sep 8, 2014
6
In THE CALLING, Susan Sarandon proves what an actress can bring to a film. THE CALLING is not bad--some nice touches and twists--but it fails on so many levels just in time for Sarandon to hold it together.
Jul 2, 2023
5
The Calling has a decent cast, I was quite surprised to see Susan Sarandon leading a film like this, however, the mystery despite some allure is on a very basic level, like that of any average literary thriller author. You know, there's suspense, but the outcome is usually disappointing.
Oct 6, 2014
60
If TV had a Saga Channel, this intriguing, if never quite gripping, serial killer thriller would play on a loop, in between reruns of Matlock and NCIS.
Aug 28, 2014
50
Preposterous as it is, The Calling remains stubbornly suspenseful until near the end.
Aug 4, 2014
40
It could generously be referred to as a character study about a detective haunted by her past, and a case that forces her to confront that past in Biblical terms. It could less generously be referred to as a pseudo-spiritual thriller that tries to literalize scriptural mythos in the same bloody terms David Fincher’s Seven used to literalize the Seven Deadly Sins, only far less artfully.
Aug 29, 2014
38
Port Dundas remains snoozy and depopulated even when throats are cut and stomachs thrown to the sheepdogs, and so does the movie.
Aug 29, 2014
25
Colorful elements of “Fargo” and “Seven” blend into a bland beige in the mostly straight-to-video The Calling, a piece that almost miraculously finds a way to waste the prodigious talents of Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn, and Donald Sutherland.
Mar 23, 2015
5
Great cast, but not a great script. At times slow and full of mumbo-jumbo dialogue and pedestrian direction. You can't but help feel that you've seen it before as it drags you along. Sort of felt like an episode of HBO’s "True Detective" without the effective story telling.
Sep 27, 2014
5
This film had a great premise and very fine acting, but the script and direction were both weak. Susan Sarandon, Topher Grace, Ellen Burnstyn and even Donald Sutherland in a very small role were all fine and very believable. Certainly the premise was interesting, but the words put into the actors' mouths were not, and the direction was dull. Too bad – since a lot of talent was wasted here.
Oct 31, 2014
3
A wannabe "Seven" Save your time and go watch "Seven" with Pitt, Freedman, and Spacey. This is just trash at the lowest level. God awful writing and even worse plot. The ending was the only redeeming part. Horrible movie with a decent ending.
Production Company:
- Stage 6 Films
- Manis Film
- Breaking Ball Films
- Darius Films
Release Date:Aug 29, 2014
Duration:1 h 48 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Pray for the Prey
Awards
Directors Guild of Canada
• 2 Nominations
Canadian Screen Awards, CA
• 1 Nomination
Canadian Cinema Editors Awards
• 1 Nomination
