Blu-ray Review – Don’t Answer the Phone

Many questions arise after a viewing of 1980's "Don't Answer the Phone," including the very meaning of the title. Phones are answered during the course of the picture, but there doesn't seem to be any malicious intent attached to the act. In fact, phone answering is almost campy, with the film's introduction detailing a conversation between nurse in her apartment settling in for the night and her mother, who's clearly being voiced by a man. Perhaps a better title for the production would be "Don't Aspire To Be a Model" or "L.A. Looked Fun in the 1970s." Despite a nonsensical title, "Don't Answer the Phone" has a pretty clear idea of what it wants to be, going full steam ahead as a sexploitation event that's very comfortable separating actresses from their clothing, while violence is favored over actual screenwriting. Director Robert Hammer keeps the basics of cops and criminals here, using formula to support more particular interests in sleazy murder sequences and a heaping helping of psychological disease. It's not a particularly pleasant endeavor, but there are select moments where the effort becomes so unhinged, it achieves a level of absurdity that makes it hard to resist. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com