Set in North Denver, Colorado in 1978, brother and sister Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) live with their drunken abusive father Terrence (Jeremy Davies). Finney is abducted by a serial child snatcher/murderer known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) who locks Finney in a soundproofed basement before eventually escalating to killing him. Inside the basement is a black phone that is disconnected, but despite this it rings and Finney answers it and hears the voices of The Grabber's previous victims who give him hints and clues to how Finney can fight back against the Grabber. Meanwhile Gwen experiences vivid dreams that are tied to The Grabber and tries to find her brother before it's too late.
The Black Phone is an adaption of the short story of the same name written by horror writer Joe Hill. The film reunites Writer/Director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill the two having previously collaborated on Sinister and Marvel's Doctor Strange and the duo determined this would be their next project after finishing Doctor Strange 2 which the two eventually left due to creative differences. The film was initiated during the covid-19 pandemic with actor Mason Thames' audition actually taking place over Zoom. The movie has been warmly received by critics and audiences, and rightly so because The Black Phone is a great horror film.
The movie does a nice job of setting up its characters and situation before actually diving into the main crux of the story with the opening half hour dedicated to character building and a big part of that comes down to the casting which is pitch perfect. Both Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are well defined and memorable characters who despite being brother and sister also have an enduring friendship with the two of them serving as anchoring points in their dysfunctional family due to the barely held together father Terrence who alternates between being in a drunken stupor and bouts of rage. Jeremy Davies plays Terrence and despite this character type being very common to this type of story Davies and the writers give more depth to this character than you usually see with some good scenes of emotionally vulnerability. Last but not least is Ethan Hawke as The Grabber and Hawke is terrifying as this masked unhinged killer who barely conceals his violent predisposition behind not only an unnerving mask but also a demeanor that's not too dissimilar from a psychotic 12 year old bully. It's a solid performance from Hawke and he's really creepy in the movie. The movie gets a lot of mileage out of its usage of the phone with the rules for how the ghosts communicate being fairly consistent and Finney being reasonably intelligent to pull it off. Sometimes the movie does show that it's based off a short story as there are instances where the plot contrives circumstances to keep itself going, but for the most part The Black Phone did what it was supposed to and made me care about the characters and wonder whether they'd make it out alive.
The Black Phone is high concept horror done right with a simple story featuring complex and defined characters. The movie is an unnerving cat and mouse game with solid performances by relative newcomers Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw in the leads, and Jeremy Davies and Ethan Hawke giving usually reliable supporting performances. It's really solid entertainment and if you're a horror fan I highly encourage you to seek this out.
The Black Phone is an adaption of the short story of the same name written by horror writer Joe Hill. The film reunites Writer/Director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill the two having previously collaborated on Sinister and Marvel's Doctor Strange and the duo determined this would be their next project after finishing Doctor Strange 2 which the two eventually left due to creative differences. The film was initiated during the covid-19 pandemic with actor Mason Thames' audition actually taking place over Zoom. The movie has been warmly received by critics and audiences, and rightly so because The Black Phone is a great horror film.
The movie does a nice job of setting up its characters and situation before actually diving into the main crux of the story with the opening half hour dedicated to character building and a big part of that comes down to the casting which is pitch perfect. Both Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are well defined and memorable characters who despite being brother and sister also have an enduring friendship with the two of them serving as anchoring points in their dysfunctional family due to the barely held together father Terrence who alternates between being in a drunken stupor and bouts of rage. Jeremy Davies plays Terrence and despite this character type being very common to this type of story Davies and the writers give more depth to this character than you usually see with some good scenes of emotionally vulnerability. Last but not least is Ethan Hawke as The Grabber and Hawke is terrifying as this masked unhinged killer who barely conceals his violent predisposition behind not only an unnerving mask but also a demeanor that's not too dissimilar from a psychotic 12 year old bully. It's a solid performance from Hawke and he's really creepy in the movie. The movie gets a lot of mileage out of its usage of the phone with the rules for how the ghosts communicate being fairly consistent and Finney being reasonably intelligent to pull it off. Sometimes the movie does show that it's based off a short story as there are instances where the plot contrives circumstances to keep itself going, but for the most part The Black Phone did what it was supposed to and made me care about the characters and wonder whether they'd make it out alive.
The Black Phone is high concept horror done right with a simple story featuring complex and defined characters. The movie is an unnerving cat and mouse game with solid performances by relative newcomers Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw in the leads, and Jeremy Davies and Ethan Hawke giving usually reliable supporting performances. It's really solid entertainment and if you're a horror fan I highly encourage you to seek this out.