The Caller

Troubled divorcee Mary Kee begins her new life by moving into an apartment. She is trying to escape her bitter and abusive ex-husband while establishing herself in the new space. During her settling in, she discovers an old rotary telephone that catches her interest due to its antique charm.

Mary places the vintage rotary telephone in her home after discovering it. She quickly becomes enamored with its antique appeal, making it a central feature in her apartment. Unbeknownst to her, this phone will become key to strange events to come.

Mary starts receiving mysterious calls on the antique phone from a woman named Rose. The calls are unsettling and become more frequent, making Mary curious and slightly uneasy about the connection. She begins to develop an unlikely friendship with Rose through these conversations.

Mary learns from the handyman George, who has been there since 1979, that Rose had an abusive husband and tragically took her own life. Rose claims she is calling from 1979, creating questions about her true identity and motives. Mary begins to question the reality of her new friend.

Rose reveals that she has killed her abusive husband and bricked him up in the pantry. Mary finds the pantry newly bricked up one day and realizes the extent of Rose's anger and supernatural influence. This revelation terrifies Mary and solidifies the threat Rose poses.

Mary starts a relationship with John, a teacher who knows about science and time. John becomes concerned that her ex-husband might be playing mind tricks on her. Later, John has to confront her ex-husband, who tries to intimidate him out of the apartment.

As Rose's calls grow more disturbing, Mary's sense of terror escalates and she cuts off all contact with her. Rose responds with rage, claiming to have identified Mary as a 'tattletale.' Concurrently, George is found dead, and Mary learns that Rose murdered him in 1979, revealing her supernatural influence.

Rose kills John as a young boy and buries him with the other victims in the pantry, which Mary discovers when she breaks down the bricks to reveal skeletons. Rose's vengeance now targets Mary's loved ones from her childhood, and Mary is driven to dispose of the remains.

Mary tries to use her knowledge of Rose's future actions to lead her into a traffic accident, but her plan fails. Rose's obsession with revenge deepens, and she goes into a mental institution before mysteriously vanishing in the present, leaving Mary desperate and haunted.

Rose reappears in the present, attempting to kill Mary. Mary realizes she must act to save her younger self, guiding her via phone. Little Mary stabs 1979 Rose with a broken mirror shard, causing her to vanish. Mary then warns her younger self to escape the apartment.

After killing Rose, Mary finds herself living with her ex-husband again, and he violently blames her. She retaliates by killing him and bricking up his body in the pantry, altering the timeline dramatically. This indicates that her actions have significantly changed her reality.

In the alternate ending, Mary has moved away from the apartment. A young couple moves in, and the rotary phone rings again, suggesting that the supernatural influence or curse persists, and the cycle may repeat with new tenants.