Cinema from the Spectrum

Following the success of The Black Phone in 2022, director Scott Derrickson returns to the helm with the 2025 sequel Black Phone 2. Based on the short story published in the collection of story stories book 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill, The Black Phone tells the story of teenager Finney (Mason Thames), whom after getting abducted by the child killer known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), must try to escape the locked basement. When a seemingly non-working rotary phone allows him to communicate with the slain victims, they help Finney escape the clutches of The Grabber and end the never ending nightmare once and for all. Or as he thought.

Taking place four years later, Finney, now 17 years old, still hasn’t recovered from the trauma he had endured in the basement. When his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins to have dreams about murdered children in an unsolved case from the 1950’s, it leads the siblings to Camp Alpine Lake. There they are joined by fellow student Ernesto (Miguel Mora), camp supervisor Armando and his niece Mustang (Demián Bichir and Arianna Rivas respectively), as well as the spirit of The Grabber who has unfinished business with the siblings.

Black Phone 2 is one of the few sequels that does not feel like a cash grab opportunity and has a thorough story. Scott Derrickson and co writer C. Robert Cargill explore the themes of trauma which Finney still has mental scars from and the survivor’s guilt being the sole survivor of The Grabber’s kidnapping. It also explores the impact that Gwen still suffers through as well while experiencing the dream visions during the events of the first film and the latest instalment.

What makes the sequel stand out is how mixing a Freddy Kruger-esque to The Grabber’s character as a ghostly entity rather than a clichéd “the villain survived somehow” character. Another is how stars Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw portray their sibling dynamic and share the same trauma that both bound them. Ethan Hawke is able to channel in the darkly Grabber entity that he can expand on the character in dream visions and ghostly presence.

There is an interesting visual element that Scott uses that flips back and forth to a Super 8 camera during Gwen’s dream sequences. What makes this work is components that seemingly are a little out of focus and filled with shadow lighting that adds to the eeriness that Scott achieves. Something that would not have the same impact if it were shot on an IMAX Camera due to the constant aspect ratio changes between Super 8 and IMAX. Black Phone 2 is a worthy continuation of Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone and channels a more emotional story compared to the first instalment. A film about trauma and survivor’s guilt mixed in with some good scares that makes the film worth the watch.

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Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Paramount Pictures.

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Directed by Scott Derrickson
Screenplay by Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill, from characters created by Joe Hill
Produced by Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Starring Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke, Madeleine McGraw, Miguel Mora, Demián Bichir, Arianna Rivas
Premiere Date: September 20 (Fantastic Fest)
Running Time: 114 minutes