Upamanyu Biswas
Helmed by Craig Pryce, Lifetime’s ‘The Killer is Calling’ is a thriller movie revolving around a serial killer who is on a murderous rampage in a small town. The film follows Faye, a 911 operator at the police department who receives numerous mysterious calls from the killer, who taunts her by announcing his victims as he hunts them down. As the night progresses, Faye’s shift worsens as more dead bodies begin to stack up while the motivations behind the crimes remain a mystery. She has to race against time to ensure the safety of potential victims while also investigating the killer’s secret identity and his connection to his targets. Although she is able to rely on her experience, the chaos of the night eventually takes its toll psychologically as Faye wonders what else is at stake in the murderer’s plans. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Review: An Intense Narrative Driven By Escalating Tension
‘The Killer is Calling’ is primarily driven by a sense of paranoia, which becomes an oppressing presence the longer Faye and her trainee Jake spend their night coiled up at their emergency call stations. A large chunk of the mystery, especially the killer’s identity, and motivations, are deftly balanced as the clues leading to the truth are hidden in plain sight. As such, when the heat starts rising on the thrilling parts, a number of key revelations come to the fore in quick succession. Additionally, isolating Faye and Jake at their 911 stations and keeping them locked in for significant parts of the movie adds to the inherent tension bubbling through the premise. It breeds a feeling of impending doom for the central characters, which works in tandem with the intense rollercoaster ride of twists and turns.
The Lifetime film juggles its various plot points and themes in a simple but wholly effective fashion. Even though there are numerous backstories and character motivations to consider, nothing feels confusing or incoherent. Certain character moments may feel rushed and unearned, but they are often overridden by a breathtaking pace near the latter parts, which aids the film in reaching its conclusion in a bombastic manner. Once the game is up and secrets have been uncovered, the story wastes no time in heading for a swift ending that satisfactorily ends the drama before the fire from the intense ride fizzles out. Moreover, its exploration of the ethics and responsibilities of being a 911 operator showcases the heavy burden shouldered by real-life professionals who have to carry out the task daily.
The Killer is Calling Plot Summary and Ending Explained
The movie begins with a mysterious man (the killer) arriving at a suburban residence, where he enters the house with a knife and kills the family inside. At the Bracken Island police station, 911 operator Faye is teaching her new trainee, Jake, the ropes of being an emergency call responder. When a man named Donny Wilkins calls in for help, Jake freezes out of stress. Subsequently, Faye deals with the situation with expertise. She returns home later and prepares for game night with her daughter, Alex, and her recently injured husband, Chris. Chris’ nurse, Stella, also decides to stay over for the family event. However, a food poisoning incident at the station causes Faye to reschedule her plans and head off to deal with the night shift with her new partner, Jake.
At the station, Faye realizes that only Officer Croft remains while the rest of the cops have been hauled away in light of the food poisoning. Expecting a quiet night, Faye and Jake hunker down for work while the former remains logged onto a video call showing her family enjoying game night in the house’s living room. The night finally picks up when an emergency call comes in from a distressed woman who tells Faye that her husband has just been murdered and the killer is still roaming her house. Faye dispatches Officer Croft on the case, relaying the address where the murder is supposed to have taken place. However, upon arrival, Officer Croft discovers that both husband and wife are dead in the house. Faye learns that the caller speaking to her is the killer in a filtered female voice.
The killer tells Faye that more deaths are soon to follow and that she must figure out his reasons for committing the crimes or risk losing more people, including her family members. Faye is alarmed by the threat and asks Officer Croft to check in with them. They turn out to be okay. The killer contacts her soon after, pinpointing the police chief Carson Hamlin as his next target. Hamlin calls into the station, breaking down over something that happened in the past that he regrets deeply. He is later found fatally wounded by the killer and passes away. Meanwhile, Jake becomes concerned after his partner Bree fails to pick up his calls. He soon receives a call from the killer, who tells him to keep Faye in the police station at all costs, or harm will come to Bree.
The Killer is Calling Ending: Why is the Killer After Faye?
One of the central mysteries of the narrative revolves around Faye’s connection to the killer. From the get-go, the killer makes it quite clear that she is somehow involved in the whole affair. As such, Faye and Jake begin digging a bit further to understand why he is targeting her. Soon, it is revealed that the reasons for the killer’s interest in her life have something to do with a tragic accident in her past. Years ago, when Faye was still a rookie in the 911 operator role, she made a mistake with an arson case involving a woman and her child. Faye misheard the address provided by the woman and sent the dispatch to the wrong location. By the time she rectified the error, it was too late, and the woman and child had already passed away. Now, in the present, the killer, who is none other than the husband of the dead wife and child, Michael Draper, is after Faye for revenge.
The death of his wife and child affected Michael very severely. Although most people believed that the house fire was an accident, he knew that the real culprit behind the fire was Harry Durrell, a bookie who had lent Michael money. Harry had set Michael’s house on fire as a way to punish him for not paying his dues. Later, when Michael attended the court case for his wife’s death, he became frustrated with the presiding judge, Landford. He tried to kill him, which eventually landed him in prison. A day after his release from prison, Michael began preparing to punish all the people who wronged him and his family by killing them one by one. He begins by taking care of Harry before setting his sights on Hamlin. He then moves on to Langford before finally taking his shot at Faye.
Does Faye Rescue Alex and Chris?
While Michael takes a straightforward path with the others, his planned punishment for Faye is a lot more elaborate. He uses the help of his wife’s younger sister, Catherine Surhan, to infiltrate Faye’s family home. It turns out that Nurse Stella is actually Catherine. After Faye regularly disobeys Michael’s orders not to involve the cops, the killer decides to execute his plan to punish Faye in the most brutal manner possible. He kidnaps her husband and daughter with the help of Catherine and takes them away. Faye watches it all unfold in distress through her video call. She tries to leave, but Jake threatens her with a knife, reminding her that if she leaves, Bree will be harmed. Faye uses the help of Ed, a drunk resident staying the night in police custody, to knock out Jake and leave the station.
After driving to Michael’s old burned house, she discovers a laptop with a pre-recorded message by Michael. She learns that Michael is already one step ahead of her and is planning to visit the same horrible fate to her family as the one he suffered. However, Faye is able to use code language used by Chris and her to decode a secret message left behind by him, which details the address where he and Alex are being held – a barn loaded with haystacks. Michael locks them in along with Bree and douses the whole area in gasoline. Faye arrives just in time to stop Michael from setting her family on fire. She and Michael engage in a dirty scuffle, ultimately ending with the protagonist somehow gaining the upper hand. She takes down Michael and leaves the barn with Bree, Alex, and Chris.
What Happens to Michael? Does Catherine Escape?
Although Faye manages to escape with her family, Michael cannot. After being knocked down by the 911 operator, he stays unconscious in the barn as it becomes engulfed in flames. While his fate is not confirmed, he is more than likely dead. In many ways, it feels like an apt conclusion to his character, mainly because of his desire for vengeance at the cost of his own self. It is evident that Michael has no desire to rebuild his life and is simply on a mission to seek revenge against those who wronged him. As such, he cannot resume an everyday existence free from the pains of his past. If he had been arrested at the end, it would have meant going back to prison for a long stint, which only takes him back to square one. Therefore, death may be the only way for him to attain release.
Meanwhile, the fate of Michael’s sister-in-law, Catherine Surhan, is left open-ended. At the end of the story, she displays some reservations about going through with Michael’s plans, showing that she is not as hell-bent on revenge as her sister’s husband. She ultimately releases Bree from captivity, going against Michael’s wishes. Subsequently, she disappears into the wild as Faye announces that an APB will soon be put on her. Although she may have been Michael’s accomplice throughout the ordeal, she deserves more of a second chance at life than Michael ever did. She is able to recognize the foolishness of her own decisions and the extreme nature of them. Thus, even if she escapes, it is likely that she will pursue a more peaceful and everyday life moving forward.
Read More: Lifetime’s The Bear Lake Murders: Filming Locations and Cast
