Scream Factory is pulling another one out of the Universal bin for their Blu-ray library, but this time around, it’s a solid offer for a movie I knew nothing about. The movie in question is “I Saw What You Did” and comes across as an 82-minute PSA on why you shouldn’t prank call people. It’s an effective thriller, with some fantastic performances from John Ireland as the unstable Steve Marak, Joan Crawford as the horny next door neighbor and newcomers Andi Garrett and Sarah Lane as the prankster callers. Read on to see if this is one call you should answer…
Product Information
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 82 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A/1
RATING: NR
PRODUCTION DATE: 1965
RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2016
Plot Summary
It starts as a game…and there’s no end in FRIGHT!
A simple prank call turns into a night of person-to-person terror in I Saw What You Did, a movie that dials up the suspense!
Teenagers Libby and Kit have found a new way to entertain themselves: by calling up random strangers and tormenting them with a warning: “I saw what you did, and I know who you are.” But when a man who has recently murdered his wife becomes their latest victim, the tables are quickly turned… and this wrong number may mean that their number is up!
Joan Crawford (What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, Trog) and John Ireland (Terror Night) are among the stars in this chiller produced and directed by the great William Castle (The Tingler, House On Haunted Hill).
Movie Review
Libby (Garrett) and Kit (Lane), along with Libby’s younger sister Tess (Sharyl Locke) are home alone and what better way to burn some time then to make some prank calls. Now remember, this is 1965 we are talking about here, so prank calling was way easier than it is today. You just pick a name from a phone book (phone book: an old archaic way of finding someone’s name, address and phone number) and give them a dial. Of course, in order to make a thriller, the girls dial the wrong number and interrupt a murder straight out of Psycho. The girls don’t know that, so they keep calling the number back and switching up the game they are playing. First, it was pretending to be the mistress and then it was the “I saw what you did…” game that gets them in the hot seat. You see, Steve Marak just buried his dead wife in the woods and a random couple saw him do it, but he thinks it’s the kids calling that are the ones in the woods who saw him. Of course, it’s not, but he doesn’t know that.
Seeing how you can’t do a *69 on their asses, Steve has no idea who they are, but, because Libby is dumb and horny, she and her friend decide to head over to Steve’s place, cause “he sounded sexy”. A run in with the horny Joan Crawford gives Steve the opportunity to get their address, hunt them down and try to silence them forever.
“I Saw What You Did” was directed by horror maestro William Castle (House on Haunted Hill) and comes across as a very light-hearted horror film. There is a plenty of moments of tomfoolery to be had and the only real threat comes from the menacing performance of John Ireland, who nails the psycho killer perfectly. There were a few moments in the film that provided some tense scenarios, but you still know that everything is going to work out in the end. And it’s the end that drives home that PSA feel, with Libby declaring she will never crank call anyone ever again – cue laughter from everyone.
Blu-ray Opinion
Scream Factory does the usual job releasing a solid Blu-ray, with only a couple special features in the way of a photo gallery and trailers. Interesting note, the photo gallery has a date stamp on all the photos of 1959, but the movie didn’t come out until 1965. I guess it took a while to get this movie out to the masses.
Special Features
• NEW 2016 High-Definition Transfer
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• “Special World Premiere Announcement” Trailer Featuring William Castle
• Photo Gallery
Verdict
“I Saw What You Did” is a fun thriller, albeit one that doesn’t go over the top in trying to scare the audience. You know everything is going to be alright, as there is no way they would harm some kids back in the bygone days of 60’s film, but John Ireland still manages to surprise you with a pretty cruel performance as the “I just want to be free” husband Steve Marak. Scream Factory doesn’t go overboard with this Blu-ray release, but if the movie can be found for the right price, it’s worth a purchase.