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  • I watched it in the 90's on TV, the movie or possible TV episode was most probably from the 80's.
  • It was in colour and I'm quite sure it was American.
  • The protagonist was a young woman, living alone in a big American city and afraid to leave her apartment because she believed that there is a killer that wants to kill her. I don't remember if this was related to her past or not.
  • I think she felt she was being watched and she was receiving calls with no one talking.
  • I think at some point she called a friend or relative to to talk about her fears.
  • Near the end of the movie she was somehow forced to leave the apartment. I remember a scene in a dark alley where she overcame her fear. I think she was attacked there and managed to defend herself, unfortunately I don't remember if there really was a killer or she was attacked by a robber, etc.
  • What may help is that I remember that all the scenes took place at night.

I think there were some scenes (at least one) shot in a way that suggested that the woman was being watched through a window from an apartment on the other side of the street. It was as if we were seeing through the eyes of the killer that was looking through his window and watching the woman through a window in her apartment. The killer was not shown though.

It's not: Midnight Lace, Copycat, Sleeping with the Enemy, Scissors with Sharon Stone, Windows with Talia Shire, Fear Inside with Christine Lahti, Tales from the Crypt episode with Blythe Danner in a library, Dream Lover with Kristy MacNichol, After Midnight with Marg Helgenberger, Wait Until Dark, Sorry, Wrong Number with Loni Anderson, When a Stranger Calls, When a Stranger Calls Back, Frozen With Fear, The Eyes of Laura Mars, The Night Caller episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Lady Beware, The Fan (1981), The Seduction or Lisa.

The closest match so far seems to be Carpenter's Someone’s Watching Me! from 1978, but it's lacking the most important detail - the protagonist wasn't afraid to leave her apartment.

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    It'd be really helpful if you could remember aspects of the woman/girl. Are we talking old lady/middle-aged/ingenue? Hair-color? How did she interact with people? By phone? Old-style rotor with a big jangly bell? – moviegique Mar 30 '16 at 18:26
  • @user3810626 Unfortunately I remember almost nothing regarding the woman. She must have been in her twenties or thirties. I don't think she was a sexbomb, rather the Windows or Someone’s Watching Me! type. I remember only the phone interactions, but I have no idea how did the phone look like. – Chanandler Bong Mar 31 '16 at 13:21
  • Any computers involved? – moviegique Apr 8 '16 at 20:48
  • @moviegique Don't remember, but possible. – Chanandler Bong Apr 9 '16 at 4:31
  • Did the young woman have groceries delivered to her apartment? and was there a storm scene where the electricity went out and lightning was lighting up the kitchen? while she sat on the floor in the dark a figure appeared in the kitchen with her? – user42433 Oct 23 '16 at 3:53
3
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The film you described sounds like the Karen Arthur film Lady Beware (US; Colour; 1987), starring a 22 year-old Diane Lane. I first saw this on television in the early 1990s. Upon re-watching it, this film matches up with most of your specs.

According to J.D. Lafrance's Radiator Heaven review of the film:

The use of actual locations in and around the city [Pittsburgh, PA] really creates a sense of place that is tangible..

Regarding the specifics you listed, Lafrance goes on to say:

Eager to impress, Katya works late and creates quite a provocative display on her first attempt, which gets the attention of Jack Price (Michael Woods), a hunky guy who begins stalking Katya, watching her while she bathes, and later, her sleeping, all from the vantage point of the fire escape on her building.

She worked on her window designs, day and night (her loft apartment allowed her to do so without venturing outside), her stalker watching. There were times when he watched her from other vantage points, depending on what she was doing and where she was doing it.

Lafrance also addressed the stalker's 'communication' habits, harassing her on the phone and even opening her mail among them.

Regarding the window-stalking which you referenced, that may have been Katya working on her window displays for the store. She was afraid to leave her apartment; however, tired of being a victim, she started to fight back and ultimately overcame her temporary agoraphobia.

3
  • It's a really well written answer and it matches my description in many points, so +1. Unfortunately it's not the movie I'm looking for. I've watched it on YT and no scene, actor, etc. looks even slightly familiar. – Chanandler Bong Aug 14 '17 at 21:32
  • Did the lead ingenue have a parrot, perchance? My reason for asking is that the movie Nightlight (aka View of Terror ) meets every one of your criteria, minus the timeline in which you said you saw it. The movie I speak of came out in 2003. – Lux L'Avventura Oct 6 '17 at 21:05
  • Thanks, but I'm 100% sure that the movie is older than 2003. – Chanandler Bong Oct 7 '17 at 22:06
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I am wondering if it is The Eyes of Laura Mars. The part about seeing through the eyes of the killer really brings that movie to mind.

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    No, it's not that. It hardly has anything in common with my description, apart from the seeing through the eyes of the killer part and even this is only slightly similar, as in my movie it's the just the POV perspective of the camera, not a "superpower' of a protagonist. – Chanandler Bong Oct 23 '16 at 20:32

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