Black Phone 2 Review
Black Phone 2 improbably brings back Ethan Hawke’s villain, the Grabber, for a second outing.
Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke in Black Phone 2. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Director Scott Derrickson and long-time writing partner C. Robert Cargill returned for Black Phone 2, a sequel to their original 2021 adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story. This new film extends the lore and workings of the supernatural for this now franchise in a fun way. Though it owes more than a little to A Nightmare on Elm Street, it brings its own flavor and was a great time at the movies.
Four years prior to the film, Finney Blake (Mason Thames) escaped from and killed the kidnapper and serial killer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), helped along by phone calls from past victims coming through a mysterious black phone in the Grabber’s basement. Now, Finney’s sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins hearing the black phone ringing in her dreams and sees ominous visions of boys being murdered at a winter camp. After finding out their mother was once a counselor there, Finney and Gwen go to the camp to investigate, only to discover that The Grabber has lured them there from the beyond, to get revenge by killing Gwen.
Madeleine McGraw in Black Phone 2. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.
In its most entertaining conceit, taken directly from A Nightmare on Elm Street, the Grabber attacks Gwen in her dreams and is capable of doing physical harm to her. This leads to some of the best sequences in the movie. Part of what makes them even more effective and surreal is Derrickson’s choice to shoot all the dream sequences in grainy, blurry Super 8mm film. The movie already feels like it comes from the 1980s, the era it’s depicting, with great period-accurate costume and production design; the 8mm pushes this feeling further into feeling like an artifact from the past.
Jeremy Davies and Mason Thames in Black Phone 2. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Some standout performances add a lot to the film. Of course, Ethan Hawke returns as the Grabber and chews the scenery in the best way, making me hope for another sequel where we can see more of him. Demián Bichir appears as Mando, the owner of the camp, and Jeremy Davies returns as the Blake siblings’ father, Terrence. I love these two actors in anything they appear in, and it’s a pleasure to see them onscreen bringing their characters to life in the way only they could.
The movie is light on jump scares, something I appreciated. The film creates an atmosphere of dread without them; the anticipation of a scare is a much more powerful tool than the scare itself. It also has a handful of standout moments of comedy in its dialogue that wonderfully break the tension when they need to.
Black Phone 2 isn’t a horror masterpiece by any means, but I enjoyed every moment of it. It’s a fun movie that will be even more effective on the big screen, making a trip to the theater worthwhile. I would recommend watching The Black Phone first, although it’s not absolutely necessary. I hope Derrickson and Cargill create at least one more of these films.
Black Phone 2 opened in theaters today, October 17.
