Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Fort Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.
The Calling is a slow-burner, but it’s laced with pitch-black humour and appealing character quirks.
If TV had a Saga Channel, this intriguing, if never quite gripping, serial killer thriller would play on a loop, in between reruns of Matlock and NCIS.
A great cast of senior actors, including Donald Sutherland and Ellen Burstyn, elevates this familiar Se7en-style pulp.
Too one-dimensional to be a character study, and too dull to be a thriller, The Calling is disappointing not just because of its bland, procedural tone but also because it completely wastes a truly impressive cast.
Grim religious references are combined with gallows humour. The film has the feel of a glorified TV movie.
It’s all quite ridiculous but it has some creepy scenes.
The subsequent investigation contains a few twists and some grisly moments, but it doesn’t manage to provide any genuine shocks or surprises.
It's middling genre filler, but maybe with a few sparks of ideas.
Seems to be the work of someone who has watched and enjoyed both Fargo and Se7en and can’t quite figure out how much of each to borrow from.
Verdict: Unoriginal thriller.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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