Synopsis

While babysitting alone at night, a teenage girl receives a series of disturbing telephone calls from an unseen stranger who appears to know her name and details about the house. As the threat escalates, the police and telephone company race to trace the calls and reach her before the caller can carry out his plan.

Factoids & Trivia

• Released in 1971, the 14-minute short is an early screen version of the "babysitter and the man upstairs" urban legend.

• The film was made as a student production at the University of Southern California and later screened at festivals including Edinburgh, L.A. Filmex, and Chicago.

• Its anonymous caller, isolated babysitter, threatening phone calls, and final race against time anticipate elements that became familiar in later horror films such as Black Christmas, Halloween, and When a Stranger Calls.

• The short was shown alongside early student films by John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon in a 2014 retrospective devoted to USC's contribution to modern horror.

• The film is also known by the alternate title Judson's Release.