Year of Release - 1980
Rating - R
Director - Robert Hammer
Running Time - 85 Minutes
Distributor - BCI Eclipse

The fine folks over at BCI Eclipse have been issuing all manner of cinematic oddities since picking up the rights to the Crown International library. One of the most anticipated releases to come from that purchase has been their highly touted uncut release of Robert Hammer?s notorious Don?t Answer The Phone! While the movie isn?t the most original slasher film of the sub-genre?s heyday, it does have a delightfully dirty atmosphere and a great, crazed performance from the main lead, Nicholas Worth.

Worth plays Kirk Smith, a Vietnam veteran who makes his living as a professional photographer in California where there?s plenty of scenery of all kinds to attract his leering lens. When he isn?t shooting photographs, however, Kirk kills his spare time by raping and strangling the lovely ladies he manages to lure into his sinister clutches. Kirk?s got issues, to say the least, most of which seem to stem back to his childhood - to call him a misogynist would be a bit of an understatement.

The cops know that they need to put a stop to the rash of crimes that Kirk is responsible for but they just don?t seem to be able to catch him in the act. To make matters more frustrating for the local authorities is the fact that Kirk enjoys calling Dr. Lindsay Gale (Flo Gerrish), a female psychiatrist who hosts a radio talk show. Although Kirk tries to disguise his voice and calls himself Ramone instead of using his real name, Lindsay is sharp enough to figure out that he might be the one behind the killings. She calls Sgt. Hatcher (Ben Frank) and Lt. Chris McCabe (James Westmoreland), two Los Angeles homicide cops, in hopes that her tip will help stop the crime spree. Kirk?s smarter than Gale gives him credit for and when he finds out what has happened he decides to make her his next victim.

While Don?t Answer The Phone! is a particularly grimy film, it?s not a particularly good one, at least not by traditional standards. That doesn?t mean that it isn?t worth a look, but the cinematography is far from stellar, the performances (save for Worth) are decidedly average and the story really isn?t anything special. The murder set pieces replace gore with some rather sexist skin showing and the film is devoid of any real scares or tension. That being said, if you?re one of those exploitation fans who can appreciate the specific atmosphere that only late seventies grindhouse moviemaking can provide, you?d do well to check it out. There is a definite feeling of unease present in the film and that, coupled with Worth?s crazed performance, makes the film work in spite of itself. Another reason to give this one a look is that parts of it function as a sort of time capsule of the L.A. of the decade. Films like Taxi Driver capture New York?s 42nd Street in all its seedy seventies glory and Don?t Answer The Phone! does the same thing for Hollywood Boulevard.

BCI Eclipse presents Don?t Answer The Phone! completely uncut in a 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. While the image isn?t perfect, it?s pretty decent even if the darker scenes are a little on the muddy side and the colors are just a bit flat looking. An English language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack takes care of the audio, though some persistent hiss on the track can prove distracting. In terms of extras, things start off with a strong commentary track from Robert Hammer who talks about his life in pictures, how he got his start shooting documentaries and how he came on board this project. It?s a lively track full of good information and Hammer comes across as a genuinely likeable guy throughout. A fourteen-minute documentary entitled "Answering The Phone" is a solid interview with Nicholas Worth who talks about how he improvised certain aspects of his character in the film in addition to providing a basic summation of how he got into acting. Look for an Easter Egg containing more Worth footage, two trailers for the feature, trailers for other Crown International titles and a decent still gallery to close things out nicely.