Don't worry. It's just the icemaker.

Many things go bump in the night in the remake of 1979's "When a Stranger Calls." Modern things, though, like icemakers. Or automatic terrarium sprinkler systems. There are no squeaky doors or clanking furnaces in this well oiled home.

After all the trouble taken to remake the movie, the filmmakers accomplish about as much as if they'd remade "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with gaucho pants and shorter cigarettes.

But at least the girl is hot.

Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle, "The Ballad of Jack and Rose") is stuck babysitting at a lake house 30 minutes from civilization. As she sits alone in the cavernous house, someone begins calling every 15 minutes. He grows increasingly creepy. At first, he says nothing, and only breathes heavily on the other end. Then he asks who she is. Then he begins to leave subtle hints that he can see her. Then she finds a body. Et cetera. You can fill in the rest.

The digital-age reconstruction of a hackneyed plot fails to breathe any new life into the comatose American horror-movie dynasty. It consists of the same camera tricks, creepy musical flourishes, false alarms and attractive young women (who always manage to get wet) seen in any other teen horror film of the past few years.

That said, the movie does manage to create some semblance of fright. For a few moments, when the killer's location is revealed, we find ourselves clenching our sodas with slightly whiter fists. Director Simon West ("Lara Croft: Tomb Raider") makes good use of corpses, and the house itself, in all its ruthless geometric modernity, adds to the suspense.

But a few scares cannot make up for all the horrible dialogue, the laughably pointless ending, the subpar performance of a fledgling actress and all the unendurable corn. The heavy breathing into the phone, for example, is so ridiculous that the audience might be let down to realize the killer is not, in fact, Darth Vader.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

When a Stranger Calls
At the Showcase and Quality 16
Screen Gems