The Calling

Name: The Calling
Genre: Thriller
Released: August 29, 2014
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 46
Cast: Christopher Heyerdahl, Donald Sutherland, Ellen Burstyn, Gil Bellows, Susan Sarandon

2014

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Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Ratings

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5.9

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5.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Ratings

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The Calling

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Movie Details & Credits

Vertical Entertainment | Release Date: August 29, 2014 | R

Starring: Christopher Heyerdahl, Donald Sutherland, Ellen Burstyn, Gil Bellows, Susan Sarandon, Topher Grace

Summary: Detective 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.

Director: Jason Stone

Genre(s): Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 108 min

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Critic Reviews

Gary Goldstein

Aug 28, 2014

The Calling is an absorbing, solidly crafted procedural thriller with a terrific lead turn by Susan Sarandon. Read full review

Pete Vonder Haar

Aug 27, 2014

The Calling breathes new life into a moribund genre by touching oft-ignored themes and offering a bit of introspection to go along with the obligatory slashed throats and biblical portents. Read full review

Melissa Maerz

Aug 28, 2014

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. Read full review

Ben Kenigsberg

Aug 28, 2014

Preposterous as it is, The Calling remains stubbornly suspenseful until near the end. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Aug 28, 2014

Suffering from its forced attempts at pseudo-religious profundity and its familiar depiction of a spiritually lost central character eventually finding salvation, The Calling is ultimately all too resistible. Read full review

Scott Tobias

Aug 4, 2014

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. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Aug 29, 2014

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. Read full review

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User Reviews

LowbrowCinema

Sep 8, 2014

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.

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GinaK

Sep 27, 2014

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 theThis 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.… Expand

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WJS

Mar 23, 2015

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.

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JLuis_001

Jul 2, 2023

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.

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WhySoSerious54

Oct 31, 2014

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.

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