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Crime Cult Classic

A video store clerk’s reality unravels amid bizarre visits, sinister calls, and a Connecticut killing spree.

DISCONNECTED

1984 · 1h 22m · NR · Crime / Drama / Horror

A young woman’s peace of mind comes under attack when the disturbing and loud phone calls she keeps getting make her wonder if she’s going insane.

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What is Disconnected about?

Disconnected is a 1984 American crime, drama, and horror film directed by Gorman Bechard about Alicia, a video store employee in Waterbury, Connecticut, whose sanity is tested by strange phone calls and a local string of murders.

Synopsis

Alicia is a young woman working as an employee at a video rental store in Waterbury, Connecticut. One afternoon, she is met outside her apartment by an elderly man dressed in black who asks to use her phone. She obliges, but finds after the two enter her apartment that the man has strangely disappeared. While out for drinks later, Alicia recounts the bizarre incident to her boyfriend, Mike, a local disc jockey, and her glamorous twin sister, Barbara Ann—both dismiss it as a strange coincidence. Meanwhile, a serial killer is murdering young women in the town, and the crimes are being investigated by Detective Tremaglio.

While working at the video store one afternoon, Alicia is met by an awkward young man, Franklin, who peruses the store, despite telling her he does not own a video player. He attempts to make conversation with Alicia before leaving. He returns the next day and asks Alicia out on a date, but she politely declines. Later that night, Alicia receives several bizarre phone calls in which she hears Mike and Barbara Ann discussing the romantic affair they are having, apparently unaware they are being listened to. Alicia subsequently has several nightmares within nightmares in which Mike and Barbara Ann come to her apartment and murder her.

The next day, Alicia phones Franklin and tells him she would like to go on a date with him after all. He obliges, though he says it will have to wait as he is busy; unbeknownst to Alicia, he is lying in bed with a woman's bloody corpse. After their phone call ends, Franklin has sex with the dead woman's body. Several days later, Alicia and Franklin go on a date to see a movie. At the theater, they run into Barbara Ann, who is also on a date. Alicia, having to work early in the morning, ends her date with Franklin and returns home. Meanwhile, Franklin visits a local bar where he meets another woman and brings her to his house. The two have sex before he eviscerates her with a switchblade.

Alicia continues to be tormented by strange phone calls, some of which emit unearthly sounds. Despite changing her phone number, the calls continue. Alicia goes to Franklin's for a dinner date, after which the two have sex. In the morning, Franklin prepares to murder Alicia, but finds she has already left for work. The next day, Barbara Ann visits Franklin at his home and seduces him. After she performs oral sex on Franklin, he murders her. Alicia stops by the next morning to visit Franklin, and finds Barbara Ann's body before being confronted by Franklin. Her screams are heard from Tremaglio, who happens to be patrolling the neighborhood. As Franklin declares that he isn’t the serial killer, he is shot and killed by Tremaglio and his partner.

Distraught, Alicia returns to her apartment where she continues to be bothered by the recurring phone calls, and enters a depressive state. She is further horrified when she hears on the radio that another female murder victim has been found in town, suggesting Franklin may not have been the primary serial killer. Alicia's mental state continues to rapidly decline. She accepts Mike's repeated requests for a date, and the two begin seeing each other again. After dropping Alicia off from an evening date, Mike makes a call from a pay phone. In her apartment, Alicia receives yet another demented call. She proceeds to destroy her phone in a fit of rage, but the ominous sounds persist as blood pours from the phone receiver. In the morning, the elderly man whom Alicia let into her home several weeks prior is seen emerging from her apartment.
Details & Specs
Director
Gorman Bechard
Writers
Gorman Bechard, Virginia Gilroy
Release
1984
Runtime
1h 22m
Genres
Crime, Drama, Horror

Why Cult

Video Store Paranoia

The film mines its 1980s video rental setting for maximum small-town anxiety, putting a clerk at the center of escalating terror.

Twin Sister Psychodrama

Frances Sherman pulls double duty as Alicia and her glamorous twin, adding layers of identity confusion to the film’s unstable reality.

Lo-Fi Connecticut Horror

Shot in Waterbury, this regional indie delivers a gritty, off-kilter atmosphere that’s pure New England oddness.

Unsettling Phone Terror

Alicia’s sanity is threatened by disturbing, persistent phone calls that blur the line between stalker and supernatural.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Disconnected about? +

Disconnected follows Alicia, a young video store employee whose life unravels after a strange encounter and a series of disturbing phone calls, all set against the backdrop of a local murder spree.

When was Disconnected released? +

Disconnected was released in 1984.

Who directed Disconnected? +

Gorman Bechard directed Disconnected.

How long is Disconnected? +

Disconnected has a runtime of 82 minutes.

What genre is Disconnected? +

Disconnected is a blend of crime, drama, and horror.