Black Phone 2

If you ask any slasher how they feel about their second sequels, they would tell you it’s hard to follow a classic. Yeah, they would say that or they would just slice you open and watch things pour out of you. Either way sequels usually have tough acts to follow. No one has completely nailed down the formula “Moneyball” style, and that’s ok, you shouldn’t be able to use numbers to calculate what scares you. If you saw Murder by Numbers you wouldn’t need more evidence than Sandra Bullock as a seasoned homicide detective. Sorry Sandra.

Digression aside, I really loved 2021’s The Black Phone, directed by Scott Derrickson, co-written by C. Robert Cargill based on the short story by Joe Hill.  It’s still too young to be called a classic, but I have little doubt in a few more years, it will be considered one. It’s a film that hits on multiple levels and still doesn’t forget to scare the hell out of you.

Now it’s years later, for us and for the lone survivor, now a full blown teenager Finn (Mason Thames) who struggles with his anger and the post traumatic stress with his time in the basement with ghosts and the serial killer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Trying to be supportive is his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) who is going through her own emotional rollercoaster as the hints of ESP in the last film have reached their boiling point. As now her dreams lead her to visions of the past at a camp called Alpine Lake where a series of grizzly murders occurred well before she was born. Following these visions she convinces her brother and her friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora) to go to the camp in the guise of counselors in training to investigate the dead children from her dreams. Upon their arrival during a blizzard, they discover there are no children, only a few of the adults who work at the camp. Shortly after, Finn is terrorized by the ghost of the Grabber from a lakeside (black, of course) payphone. He has returned from hell to exact his revenge on Finn and his sister.

Black Phone 2 does not fall into the sequel hole, by giving more of the same as the first film, just bigger and bloodier. The filmmakers shift focus towards the secret weapon of the first film, which was Madeleine McGraw as Gwen. Having this be more her movie was the right move as she is phenomenal as a blooming young girl with a powerful sixth sense. There is a scene where she is screaming that she thinks she going crazy. It’s a brutal and raw performance and she immediately re-captures your heart as she did in the first film with her one-sided Jesus conversations. Thames as the older Finn, has less to do in this film and while it’s obvious he’s still unable to cope with the trauma that was inflicted upon him, not enough time is devoted to unpack it in a satisfying way. The supporting cast of adults do what is given to them but only Demián Bichir as Mondo is developed past the surface, but even that is not why we showed up.

We want Grabber vs. kids, and we do get it throughout the film, he tortures the brother and sister both psychologically and physically, and all those scenes are truly intense and cool. The Nightmare on Elm Street vibes are extremely apparent, even down to Gwen running around in two-piece pj’s with a bloody bandage on her left forearm. The only parts that got a little taxing were the dream sequences which were shown in 8mm. Some the scenes go on too long with little release of tension. When they switch back and forth during a scene of bloody violence it works really well, but they are not as consistent. Hawke wearing scarier versions of his masks this time around also elevates his performance, not as subdued as before, more intense and angrier which makes for a more terrifying villain.

Overall Black Phone 2 exceeds the sequel bar. And I won’t spoil it here, but it does something rare in movies of this genre and it’s almost a magic trick how well it plays out. Through the performances and unique filmmaking, but mostly the setting make this a memorable chilling piece of horror.