THE BLACK PHONE / BLACK PHONE 2

The Grabber (Ethan Hawke)

THE BLACK PHONE (2021). Director: Scott Derrickson.

BLACK PHONE 2 (2025). Director: Derrickson.

In a small town in the 70's a series of high school boys have been abducted by an unknown creep known as the "Grabber" (Ethan Hawke). The latest victim is 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames). Finney finds himself in a  locked sound-proofed basement where the Grabber -- wearing a hideous mask (modeled, I suspect, on Batman's Joker) -- visits him from time to time. Things turn especially strange when a disconnected phone in the basement begins to ring -- and Finney finds himself talking to the ghosts of the previous victims. Can one of these dead boys tell him how to escape, and will it be in time? In the meantime Finney's psychic and potty-mouthed sister, (Madeleine McGraw), tries to find him.

Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke

I had mixed emotions while watching The Black Phone. I admit I'm not overly fond of stories in which children are in danger and are physically or psychologically tortured. At least Phone is not overly graphic and can not be considered "torture porn." If the Grabber has a sexual interest in the boys it is not explored, although one imagines he does. The storyline borders on the pretentious at times and actually gets a little silly. But after awhile the efforts of Finney to escape and of the police, Gwen and others to find him, become compelling. Thames and Hawke give excellent performances, and there are also notable supporting performances from the victims and others. 

Verdict: A bit overlong but creepy. **3/4. 

BLACK PHONE 2 shows us Finn and Gwen four years later, where they decide to try to get jobs as counselors at a Christian winter camp where their late mother had worked. Snowbound, they come across another phone that is disconnected but somehow rings, and both brother and sister have conversations with people from the afterlife, including their mother and the Grabber. Seems the maniac killed three young boys but their bodies have never been found, and until they are, for some reason, the Grabber will have power in the real world -- he does his best to kill the teens and others. Black Phone 2 is a mostly unoriginal combination of a grainy found footage movie, the Blair Witch, and especially the Nightmare on Elm Street films with its surfeit of dream sequences. The Grabber is revealed to have been "Wild Bill," a maintenance worker at the camp. The acting is generally good -- Miguel Mora gets major points for his versatility by playing both the shy Ernesto in this film and his brash, rough brother Robin in the first movie -- but the picture is too tricky for its own good. There are some well-handled and moderately exciting sequences, but after awhile I just wanted the damn thing to be over. There's more gore in this film than in the first but nothing over the top. Way too long! 

Verdict: Where's Freddy Krueger when you need him? **.