If the idea of a phone-hounding killer stalking a teenage babysitter in a secluded house sounds like an imitative idea for a film, you’re not alone. Problem is, someone should have told Simon West, director of “When a Stranger Calls.”

Not only is the film an uninspired remake of the 1979 original of the same name, but influences from modern teen-slasher fare, such as “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” can be seen dripping from the screen.

“When a Stranger Calls” is filled with empty scares, wooden acting and a plot so predictable you could probably leave before the film ends and guess how everything plays out.

The film stars relatively unknown actress Camilla Belle, as Jill Johnson, who is forced to baby-sit as a punishment for going over her minutes on her cell phone. How modern. Jill’s seemingly quiet evening turns into a back-and-forth game of mundane phone tag with an unknown stalker.

Another downfall is Jill’s relationship with her friends and boyfriend suffers from a lack of depth or emotion that doesn’t really give the audience much to invest in. Some of this could be a testament to Belle’s limited range in this role.

As a result, the stakes aren’t as high as they might be if the story was fleshed out a bit more. All that we’re left with is a middle-of-the-road thriller with nothing except some nice cinematography to show for it.

The film doesn’t really try to be genuinely scary. Most of the “scares” that you’ll find are the fake-out variety, such as doors being swung open to reveal nothing, or outlines of shadowy figures that turn out to be household objects.

West and Cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr. at least try to make the film look good. The first half of the film has some stunning camera shots and angles, but they seemed to stop caring as the film wore on.

Anyone looking for a thrilling ending, as is typical of the genre, may be left out in the cold.

This is truly unoriginal filmmaking at its worst and the root of Hollywood’s financial troubles at the box office. If only studios would stop cranking out tired re-treads of stale genre films, then maybe audiences would come back to theaters in appreciation of originality instead of wasting their money on mediocrity.

In my opinion When a Stranger Calls receives a zero out of four stars. Definitely not quality Friday night entertainment.