The Calling (2014)

What makes The Calling linger is how it takes a familiar serial-killer setup and gives it an unnervingly thoughtful pulse, pairing grisly crime scenes with a sense of spiritual dread that feels both strange and oddly intimate. Susan Sarandon anchors the film with a lived-in, human performance—tough, weary, and quietly wounded—so the investigation isn’t just about clues, but about what violence drags up in the people tasked with staring it down. Jason Stone’s direction keeps the atmosphere taut and wintry, letting the procedural details click into place while the writing nudges the genre toward introspection without turning preachy. It’s not for the squeamish—the imagery can be harsh—but if you like thrillers that trade cheap shocks for mood, character, and an unsettling idea that won’t let go, this one is worth the ride.

The Calling wants to be a moody, small-town serial-killer thriller with religious overtones and a weary, human detective at its center, and on paper that’s a solid pitch—especially with Susan Sarandon and Ellen Burstyn involved. The problem is it rarely builds real tension: the pacing is sluggish, the beats feel familiar, and the investigation unfolds with more plod than pull, so the gruesome imagery ends up doing most of the heavy lifting. If you’re coming for a tight, twisty cat-and-mouse ride, you’ll likely find it dramatically flat and oddly low-energy for how nasty the crimes are. Still, if you prefer a restrained, somber procedural vibe and you’re mainly here for the cast trying to elevate thin material, you may get just enough out of it to justify the time.