By George & Josh Bate
A new horror movie icon was born when the world was introduced to The Grabber. The Black Phone, adapted from a short story by Joe Hill, captured the atmosphere of horror classics from the 1970s and saw director Scott Derrickson triumphantly return to the genre he had proven to be such a master of with efforts like Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Helming a sequel for the first time, in part due to the critical and financial success of the original, Derrickson revisits the story of The Black Phone, a decision that disappointingly fails to pay off.
Black Phone 2 picks up several years after the events of the first film. Siblings Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) try to move on from the trauma inflicted on them by The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) when they begin to receive calls and see disturbing visions of three dead boys. Finney and Gwen take it upon themselves to look into these visions, an investigation that sees them go to a snow-covered camp and once again confront The Grabber.
In addition to the 1970s horror aesthetic Derrickson cultivated, The Black Phone worked due its fairly simple, yet effective concept and contained story. With Black Phone 2, Derrickson and his co-writer C. Robert Cargill go bigger with a film that sees them juggle elements from the past, lore about a campsite, the origins of The Grabber, a new group of dead kids, and a seemingly endless array of largely indistinguishable dream sequences. The once streamlined story quickly becomes jumbled with far too many moving pieces for the film to handle.
The movie starts in disjointed fashion, but settles down once Finney and Gwen arrive at Alpine Lake camp. The rest of the movie takes place at this snowy Colorado camp, a cozy, isolated setting with clear parallels to The Shining. Once again, Derrickson demonstrates his propensity for creating a spooky, contained atmosphere – this time one that is visually distinctive from its predecessor’s suburban setting. In largely taking place at a camp, Black Phone 2 also has shades of various 1980s camp-set horror movies, such as Sleepaway Camp and Friday the 13th. But the most striking parallels are between Derrickson’s sequels and the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, namely Dream Warriors.
The Grabber goes full Freddy Krueger in Black Phone 2 as, following his death in the first film, he appears exclusively in the dreams of Gwen. The scenes with Hawke’s creepy villain, which are disappointingly limited, are by far the film’s best and scariest. A particular dream sequence in which The Grabber ominously speaks to Finney on the phone before pursuing Gwen in various camp buildings marks one of the rare occasions that Black Phone 2 truly unsettles. Otherwise, the extensive use of dream sequences grows tired and fosters a repetitive structure to the film’s narrative. Derrickson excellently employed Super 8 in Sinister and the first The Black Phone to create some of the most memorable moments in both films. Here, however, Derrickson shows there can be too much of a good thing with an overuse of Super 8 to create a myriad of mostly indistinguishable dreams. Eventually, after watching the 10th or so Super 8-filmed dream, it is difficult to not roll your eyes at how repetitive and, in turn, dull Black Phone 2 becomes.
Unlike another major horror movie sequel premiering at this year’s Fantastic Fest, Black Phone 2 doesn’t botch its attempts to explain and provide an origin story for its villain. Details of The Grabber’s background are revealed and thankfully don’t squander the threat and intrigue posed by Hawke’s villain. On the contrary, the reveals deepen The Grabber’s character and leave us wanting to know more about him and his motivations.
Despite the peeling back of the layers for The Grabber, Hawke plays a fairly small role in the film, something that can’t be said for Madeleine McGraw’s Gwen. In The Black Phone, Mason Thames’ Finney was firmly the lead as the film largely focused on Finney’s attempts to escape The Grabber’s imprisonment by communing with the spirits of deceased children. This time around, Finney takes more of a backseat as his sister Gwen plays a more central role. Gwen’s visions instigate the story, unlike The Grabber’s actions in the previous movie, and her actions propel the plot forward more than any other character. Although Thames is given a great dramatic scene near the end, McGraw has far more rich material to chew on as she contemplates whether her visions make her crazy and unravels the mystery of The Grabber.
By the time the film reaches its climax, much of the story’s unwieldy parts have been put into place, although the journey to get to this conclusion is arduous. The finale sees Derrickson embrace a deep-cut horror reference in drawing on the 1983 Canadian slasher film Curtains and, at last, elevate the film beyond the lull that encompasses much of its runtime. The concluding showdown, which borrows from various Nightmare on Elm Street sequels, is Black Phone 2 at its most gripping and action-focused, although interest in the story has declined quite a bit by this point. As the credits roll, Derrickson’s film wraps up in surprisingly definitive fashion. Admittedly, the same thing could have been said for the last Black Phone movie, which obviously wasn’t the last we saw of The Grabber, but, if Blumhouse and company decide to make Black Phone 2 the true final chapter of this story, there are no loose ends left to tie up.
VERDICT: 5/10
Black Phone 2 falls disappointingly short of its critically acclaimed and financially successful predecessor. Juggling far too many plot elements and ideas, Scott Derrickson’s first-ever sequel lacks the simplicity of his 2022 horror movie and narratively unfolds in a rather convoluted manner. Derrickson proves yet again, however, that he possesses a mastery of cultivating atmosphere in horror – this time around borrowing from The Shining to create a visually distinctive, cozy, winter-y viewing experience. Unfortunately, the film lapses into a far too repetitive narrative structure with an overuse of Super 8-filmed dream sequences that do little to stand apart from one another. While Ethan Hawke’s The Grabber, now given the full Freddy Krueger treatment, plays a more limited role, he is just as terrifying as ever and his scenes are by far the best and scariest of the film. Meanwhile, Mason Thames takes more of a backseat role as Madeleine McGraw’s Gwen steps in as the lead and becomes the film’s most fleshed out character. Although the climax delivers a much-needed punch, investment in the story and characters decline at this point due to how much of a lull the preceding movie is. Black Phone 2 wraps up in definitive fashion, but the same thing could be said for the first film and that didn’t stop it from getting a sequel. Whether or not The Grabber will return is unknown, but, if he does, hopefully Scott Derrickson finds his footing again after this rare misfire.