Supernatural Horror Serial Killer Deserves an Upcoming Sequel

By Robert Scucci
| Published 20 seconds ago

Have you ever been to one of those escape rooms where you pay to be trapped in a small space and solve puzzles so you can eventually get out through the gift shop? That’s kind of how The Black Phone plays out, except in this case you’re locked in a dank basement against your will by a psychotic serial killer named “The Grabber,” and have to communicate with the disembodied spirits of his past victims VIA rotary phone as they leave you with cryptic clues that allow you to plot your daring escape from imminent death. The Black Phone has been on my radar for a while now, and although I admit I slept on this surprise hit, I knew I had to watch it sooner or later, especially now that its sequel which upcoming (and deserved) coming out later this year .

Supernatural Horror Like No Other

The Black Phone it doesn’t have a complicated plot, but it is executed to perfection. After a series of child abductions and murders set the community of North Denver, Colorado on edge, we learn about The Grabber (Ethan Hawke); the unbroken person of interest who operates out of a black spot filled with black balloons as he searches for his prey. Driving around town and abducting children undetected, The Grabber picks up his next victim, Finney Blake (Mason Thames), a socially awkward 13-year-old boy.

Finney’s younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) has psychic visions that offer insight into The Grabber’s whereabouts, as well as the fate of his past victims, but their abusive alcoholic father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), encourages her to not talking about or acting on her abilities because her mother had the same gift of clairvoyance, which ultimately drove her to suicide.

Finney, locked in The Grabber’s soundproof basement dungeon, begins to receive calls from the black (and disconnected) rotary phone mounted on the wall, and they are all from children which he remembers from school before they went missing. The disembodied spirits of Finney’s dead friends give him specific instructions on how to act so he can defeat The Grabber, as they try to make their own daring escapes using the limited resources they had, but ultimately meet their demise after failing to breach the basement.

Finney, who has the advantage of hearing from multiple victims’ perspectives, has the ability to come up with an escape plan using all the information he hears through the black phone.

Meanwhile, detectives Wright (E. Roger Mitchell) and Miller (Troy Rudeseal) have an encounter with Max (James Ransone), a man who has been obsessively trying to find out the identity and location of The Grabber because it is clear that the authorities need some help in trying to find all the children who have disappeared and are presumed to be has died

Great Performances All Around

If you think so The Black Phones plot sounds almost too simple to be effective, that’s where you are seriously mistaken. Not only do you want to root for Finney the whole time as he is guided by voices from beyond the grave, his tenacity and willingness to trust in forces beyond his understanding complying with the rules of The Grabber’s sadistic games makes for an outstanding performance by Mason Thames. , the film’s lead. Finney moves from being scared to being in complete control of the situation as he learns more about the weak points in The Grabber’s master plan.

Ethan Hawke absolutely terrifying as The Grabber, whose personality is so disturbing because of how flamboyantly he commits his sadistic crimes. Shifting between voices of childlike curiosity and snarling growls, Hawke’s performance will keep you up at night because he comes off as a nice guy who can’t control his impulses until you realize it’s all part of ‘to a twisted game.

Watch the Black Phone

The Black Phonewhich is based on C. Robert Cargill’s short story of the same name, is masterfully suspenseful, and absolutely worth buying on demand. My biggest regret is not throwing down the $4 while waiting for the title to make its rounds streaming. The Black Phone 2the upcoming sequel, currently slated for an October 2025 release, and you better believe I’m going to check it out on opening day.

After watching The Black Phone on-demand through Apple TV+, Google Play Moviesor Fandango at Homeyou’ll want to check out V/H/S/85 for the short film, “Dreamkill,” which takes place in the same universe as The Black Phonebut seven years after the events depicted in the film.