Long Distance (I) (2005) User Reviews

Clever idea, but it doesn't get the help it needs from its script

[bob_meg · 6/10 · 14 August 2011]

Long Distance starts shakily enough. Monica Keena (who it took me a while to remember as Rachel from "Undeclared") plays Nicole Freeman, a recently-jilted post-grad Psych major working on her thesis in a run-down former middle-school-now-apartment-building in Boston (great quirky/creepy locale, by the way). One night she accidentally misdials a number and gets a call back from the guy she reached, who happens to be a serial killer on a cross-country rampage headed for...well, you know.

Nicole goes through a series of phone exercises at the beginning of the film that are now very familiar to all those who've seen Scream and its many predecessors and progenitors. These calls are much of the usual mental torment/mind f*** crap, and they don't really hold the menace they need to relay. This trope is getting so old, it's really hard to make this scenario seem anything but a parody. Keena's acting, which is middling at best --- she seems, if anything, a bit too young for the part --- doesn't help.

Still, Long Distance isn't badly written. There's something vaguely enticing about a woman who's sucked into playing live "bait" for a wacko on a nationwide trek. It's worked by the screenwriters with an almost playwright's inventiveness. It keeps you watching and if you analyze the script in retrospect, it's actually pretty clever in the placement of clues that set up the plausibility-stretching denouement.

But that's really the crux of the problem with this overall earnest, well-intentioned shoestring indie: you shouldn't *have* to go back and put the pieces together...they should make more of an impact the first time you experience them.

I'm giving this one high marks more for what it could have been than what it is, but I'd caution you...it's not for the unobservant or those who need a big-picture sheen on their thrills.

A wrong number leads to a nightmare.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 12 April 2015]

Spine-tingling. A misdialed phone number pushes a lovely, lonely grad student into more terror than she could imagine. One wrong digit has Nicole(Monica Keena)interrupting a murder in progress. The killer(Kevin Chapman)continues his string of murders and taunts Nicole by calling her from each crime scene. The terrified young woman can hear the violence taking place over the phone and gets the idea that each murder may just lead the fearless killer straight to her own door ...soon! Miss Keena is a better actress than she gets credit for. Also in the cast: Tamala Jones, Ivan Martin, Lonnie Farmer, Tim McIntire and Emily Galvin.

short distance

[ofjeworstlust · 5/10 · 20 January 2008]

Just before the movie ends, the 'twist' really spoiled the fun. We've seen the killer that comes after the single white female. And the ones that phone them before entering the premises. It was quite good, except for the cop of which I first thought: is he the killer perhaps?

No pretenses on the story or the acting, but man, I have to say again: what a bad twist - has been done so many times before. Many DVD's have alternate endings, it would have been so easy to add a satisfying one.

The too sexy neighbor across the street, overacting all along. Loved the head actress by the way, and the scene where the cop pulls a gun in front of the opening elevator, and the old lady drops her groceries ;)

Dreadful *spoilers*

[lukas1979 · 1/10 · 11 May 2006]

A dizzy girl gets calls from a serial murderer that send her from a moronic dumb blond (who can read), to a poorly acted and unbelievable anxious dumb blond, and then back and forth several times (with more incredulous screen presence in between). She is supported in our distress by what can only be described as cops worthy of a minor role in a TV soap as the dialogue blunders on and on, and we wonder if this rubbish will ever end.

When that end comes, albeit with a weak twist, we are left feeling neither scared, sympathetic nor interested (or any other emotion apart, perhaps, from dismay). It turns out the whole first 1hr20 of the film were delusions and that the serial caller/killer is actually a voice in her head that helped her kill her boyfriend and his lover. The last 10 minutes attempts to tidy up the mess already made by rearranging all the previously unbelievable characters (from the delusion) as newly unbelievable characters in the 'real world'.

The only point at which Monica Keena became a believable character as at the end in her catatonic state, lying still and staring blankly into space seemed to come naturally (perhaps this is what got her the job on the casting couch), although, to be fair, perhaps it was just an inept director and pathetic script that made her so bad.

No attempt was made at any point to get us engaged with the actors or the plot and whilst 'the clues were there' as to the outcome, by the time the twist came we no longer cared. This could be a high school production.

Long distance is a bit of a stretch

[movieman_kev · 4/10 · 11 August 2010]

When Nicole (Monica Keena, best known for being in early seasons of HBO's "Entourage") dials a wrong number inadvertently and leaves a message. A killer calls her back using Caller I.D and sets in motion a series of events that seem to be culminating in the psycho going after her. Something even the detectives whom she convinced to help her may be powerless to stop.

Monica seems to be doing the best with what she's been given, but the plot is just too clichéd for me to actually care for the movie that much. It didn't help that the character of Nicole was so insanely stupid that I couldn't care less if she lived or died. Add to this the fact that the movie,while only an hour and a half, seemed to drag on & a twist ending that adds insult to injury. All in all moderately well-acted but tedious movie with an awful ending.

My Grade: D+

Terrible Acting, terrible film...

[fluffy_orange_monster · 3/10 · 4 June 2006]

I rented this movie from a local store and wasn't expecting much as in my opinion there are very few modern thrillers that live up to the older classics and Long Distance was no exception to this rule.

A potentially very good storyline is ruined by poor acting and a terrible score consisting of about two instruments!! In a movie like this music is vital in creating suspense but unfortunately this film had no suspense. The best part of the film was the ending as it did have quite a good twist. However even at that point I still didn't feel that Nicole's character was acted well enough. I would have enjoyed the film and it's a shame that it had to seem like a low-budget amateur film.

It was never about me. It was always about you.

[jmbwithcats · 7/10 · 28 May 2006]

Long Distance is about a distraught grad student, Nicole Freeman (Monica Keena from The Devil's Advocate and Dawson's Creek) working on her thesis. A no longer a teen not quite a woman type whose unfaithful boyfriend Chris left her and mother figures it's her fault. Who feels estranged from the rest of the world for reasons unknown, likely due to the breakup. When trying to call her mother, she accidentally misdials the number of a strange man named Joe (Kevin Chapman from The Boondock Saints, The Cider House Rules, Blow, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", Mystic River, 21 Grams, "24") Wow this guy has been in a lot of good stuff.

When a policeman (Ivan Martin from.. umm.. well, nothing I recognized), anyway he arrive the next day to inform Nicole that a murder has occurred from the house of Joe, we begin to piece together a puzzle of terror as she tries to stop him from killing again, as he makes his way across the country to her doorstep.

Conceptually though the movie is interesting.

Winding right when you think it's going to go over the edge of mediocrity, a car climbing a twisting mountain at night, encased in fog. They bring in a profiler (Tamala Jones from Booty Call, Head of State, and One on One), to help catch the killer known only as "Joe". She talks of Freud, freedom, and the shadows we cast, a choice of words I found intriguing.

The sound effects sounded like maybe they were chosen by Roger Waters in a small EMI studio, circa 1968.

The music is really innovative and ambient. The kind of movie I'd own the soundtrack to but never the movie.

The Achilles heal of Long Distance is the dialog, but when you figure it out it starts to make more sense why the film works so well conceptually, but not emotionally. Symbolically, but not literally.

not too bad...not great

[scoup · 5/10 · 3 April 2012]

The film sets up nicely with a misdialed phone call to a serial killer in progress. I like the idea because it is fresher than the "I know you are alone" call. However, in hind sight, this leads to the most probable ending (which the movie has) because otherwise the motive for the serial killer's pursuit could become far fetched and unlikely.

The acting was okay. The driving force of the film is the desire to find the identity of the serial killer and the motive.

There are definitely many areas for improvement including script, set, special effects and ambiance. There was a somewhat too light tone of acting; maybe if the script demanded it, it would not have seemed noticeable.

great show

[tfourboston · 8/10 · 6 May 2005]

I saw the premier show of Long Distance in NY. I am not an enormous fan of suspense/thriller movies, however I found this one to be spot on. The ending took me entirely by surprise. I would rank the twist in the end to one of my all time favorites "The Usual Suspects". This is a movie you have to see again to determine what you missed the first time around. I will be looking for this movie to come to Boston so I can see it again. The length of the movie seemed about right, I didn't find myself looking at my watch at any point during the show. I found it interesting that the pool was not included in the original script and in the end it fit in so well with the story line. Great picture!

caller id

[vampi1960 · 10/10 · 14 October 2006]

very original suspense film about a lonely young girl(Monica keena)who dials a wrong number by one digit and gets in touch with a serial killer at large.its one of those movies you really have to pay attention to.Monica keena who i know from Freddy vs Jason is a very good under rated actress.who should get recognized for her role in this independent but very good movie.i recently seen this on the sundance channel expecting a slasher movie,but was very surprised.and there's a surprise twist ending thats very Hitchcock like.this movie will give new meaning to the feature on your phone called caller id.i have to commend the sundance channel for picking fine movies like this,i would'nt call this so much a slasher movie,but a suspense in a class with Alfred Hitchcock's dial m for murder and psycho.I'm hoping to see more of Monica keena in more movies.although Freddy vs Jason does'nt look too good on her resume but remember thats how brad Pitt(cutting class)and johnny depp(nightmare on elm street)started.i loved long distance its a very good movie,and very original.kudos to Monica keena,she rocks.Hollywood take note move over Reese Witherspoon.

Question and comment

[gloria723 · 10/10 · 5 November 2006]

I recently saw the movie "Long Distance" and I agree with the other person (Mr. Boston), the plot was set up in excellence. I normally read between the lines but this movie took me by total surprise again like "Usual Suspect" or any other movie that is a suspense thriller would have an ending predictable this was brilliantly written. You just can't expect a part 2 because it's just some movies that are self explanatory and this is one of those movies. At the end you really thought who the killer was would be revealed. By the way can someone tell me on the soundtrack who song the song "long distance" it was a woman but I couldn't quite make out the name? [e-mail]....

The end: brilliant or just pulp? Your choice.

[Dr_Coulardeau · 10/10 · 3 June 2009]

The film is very good till the very last two minutes. You will really be thrilled and frightened by this film but you will lose tracks of any rational meaning at the end. After a while you will not know who is who and where you stand and that will be definitely scary. A good thriller provide you do not try to understand the end. The punch line will punch you down flat on the ground. Some will tell you that end does not provide you with a solution to the crimes. True. But at the same time some others will say the solution is quite obvious. And that's where I say all rational logic is lost. No matter who the killer could be how could he or she be in four or five states away from the original place, and at the same time with the girl who would be seized by a serious case of delusion. Then what is the role of the FBI profiler all along and even after the last crime? She has been a witness of it all and yet she completely goofed it off and down. That does not work. To know the killer at the end is not important but all the possible solutions have to be possible not materially impossible.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEGID

Wrong Number, Great Movie!

[darryl-jason · 8/10 · 24 November 2018]

If you've seen the Scream movies, or "When A Stranger Calls", you'll see the same similarities in this suspense thriller (but without a killer going round in a mask killing people). "Long Distance" has a very much similar style to those films. Most of the movie features mystery phone calls that leave you you to think where the killer is calling from, and will he appear.

Credit goes to Monica Keena who I've only seen in one other film ("All She Wants For Christmas") she did great in that movie which I guess led me to watch this one. The acting is great, however it does get better throughout the film. The camera angles also give that bit more tension - especially during the phone call scenes we see Nicole (Keena) standing to the far right (or left) of the screen & we see behind her wondering if the killer is going to appear somewhere in shot. A lot of this happens & it adds a great effect to the movie. This also leaves you with wondering if the killer is somewhere in her apartment.

If you're a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" or the Scream movies, you'll definitely like this one.

I won't spoil the ending because some of the other reviews have pretty much already done that but I will say one thing - if you're gonna make a phone call... dial with care!