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’The Black Phone’ review: Dir. Scott Derrickson (2022)

Novelist Stephen King is a name synonymous with both horror films and literature. His books have been adapted countless times, with mixed results. Whilst many are familiar with King’s name, fewer know of Joe Hill. Hill is another horror writer, one who also happens to be the oldest son of Stephen King and his wife Tabitha. Following in the family tradition, there have already been several adaptations of Hill’s work: Horns, Locke & Key, In the Tall, and N054R2 being just some. Now comes another; The Black Phone

(from left) The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) in The Black Phone, directed by Scott Derrickson.

Directed by Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone expands upon Hill’s short story of the same name, telling the horrific events of a child abduction. The victim, Finney (Mason Thames), is the latest child to be taken by the ‘The Grabber’ (Ethan Hawke), but whilst held captive he begins to receive calls on his cell’s broken telephone. The calls connect him to the other side and with previous victims of The Grabber who all have one goal – to help Finney survive long enough to destroy the dastardly killer. Derrickson is no stranger to the world of horror, his 2012 film Sinister was analysed by scientists and awarded the title of most frightening film ever (until Rob Savage’s Host was released). With such a big boast on the resume, expectations for just how scary The Black Phone is are sky high. Unfortunately what is in the film can never match up, but that’s due more to the overall tone and intention. 

Whereas Sinister was all about scare sequences, much of the horror in The Black Phone comes from the circumstances that Finney finds himself in. Even before Finney is captured there are plenty of dark moments. Finney is bullied by both kids at school and his alcoholic father (played by an exceptionally mean Jeremy Davies). Some would argue that the scenes within the homestead between Finney, his dad, and his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), are the darkest and most disturbing aspects of the film. There’s a real malice and sense of threat in these moments, one that doesn’t exist to the same degree inside Finney’s prison. Full of playful eccentricities, The Grabber is creepy and odd, but he never feels as menacing as Finney’s own father, which makes it hard to be fully afraid of him. The ‘scares’ in this Hell hole come from some perfectly executed jump moments, Derrickson leaning fully into the jump scare movement to generate that fear-soaked adrenaline buzz for the viewer. These are executed wonderfully and The Black Phone benefits from being watched with a big crowd for exactly these scenes. 

Fans of Hill’s source material will find that plenty of it still remains intact. Adaptations are usually cruel with their culling of elements of the inspiration, but given that the original piece is only around twenty pages long, almost all of it exists on screen in some form or another. Some changes have obviously been made, the most notable being the name and age of Finney’s sister, and the appearance of The Grabber. The book makes no mention of a mask, but its use in the film helps tap into something darker. Film is a visual medium and the look of the facial covering is exactly what is needed to sell The Grabber as something more than your regular onscreen child abductor. The story all remains though and forms some of the stronger moments of The Black Phone’s middle section. Hill’s written dialogue makes the script and there’s something incredibly eerie about hearing a piece of fiction being brought to life so precisely. 

Outside of Hill’s source, The Black Phone does struggle in places. The set-up to the abduction is handled well, Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill mining Hill’s material to create a lead-up that does not exist in the short. All the characters are built up effectively and the capture sequences of victims prior to Finney are artfully shot, keeping intrigue around The Grabber high until his big Finney-stealing reveal. Once Finney has been captured, The Black Phone loses some of its pace. The story rests upon Finney receiving numerous calls and as such, feelings of repetition quickly set in. An attempt is made to alleviate this by building out the part of Gwen, and whilst she is a very entertaining character, it does occasionally feel bloated. 

The strange juxtaposition of tones also forms some of The Black Phone’s undoing. There’s a mixture of humour, horror, abuse, and addiction, and the constant flitting between all of these is a lot to balance. The cast all work well within their parts; Hawke makes an excellent villain and is especially good when you consider that the bulk of his time on screen is acting from behind a mask. The young Mason Thames holds his own against one of Hollywood’s finest, demonstrating a commendable transition of Finney from meek to mighty. It’s the supporting characters that almost steal the film though. James Ransome’s part appears cater made to his abilities and the young Madeleine McGraw almost steals the whole film with her feisty and determined Gwen. She’s the kind of little sister everyone wishes they had. 

Sinister is always going to be a tough act for Derrickson to follow and though The Black Phone doesn’t work on the same level, it still remains an entertaining film. Packed with interesting characters and some scene-stealing turns, The Black Phone has plenty about it to enjoy and entice, it just doesn’t push as hard as the source allows. 

The Black Phone

Kat Hughes

The Black Phone

Summary

Peppered with some perfectly executed jump scares, The Black Phone is the perfect film to see in a dark room full of strangers.

3

The Black Phone arrives in UK cinemas on Wednesday 22nd June 2022. 

Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.

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