The Black Phone Review

There have been many notable horror directors that have rose to prominence in the 2000s, from the likes of James Wan and Leigh Whannell to Ti West. However, a late bloomer comes in the form of one Scott Derrickson. Derrickson first got his start directing the 2000 film Hellraiser: Inferno, the first of the Direct-to-DVD Hellraiser films and considered to be the best film of that era of the franchise. Derrickson followed it up the supernatural horror legal drama The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the forgotten 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, Derrickson only really came to prominence when he teamed up with former film critic turned screenwriter C. Robert Cargill to make Sinister, which followed a true crime writer who moves into a new house with his family, and in the attic, discovers a box of Super 8 films reels that contain snuff films. The film made $82 million against a paltry $3 million budget, and received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its acting, direction, and cinematography, while deriding it for its use of jump scares and horror cliches. Derrickson and Cargill teamed up again for the MCU film Doctor Strange, which was also a critical and commercial hit. However, in development of the film’s sequel (which later become Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), both Derrickson and Cargill left due to creative differences. Instead, they once again teamed up again for their latest project, an adaptation of the short story “The Black Phone” by Joe Hill (who is the son of legendary horror writer Stephen King). And it proves to be the must-see horror film of the summer.

Taking place in 1978 Denver, the film follows 13-year-old Finney Blake (Mason Thames), who lives with his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine Shaw) and their abusive, alcoholic widower father Terrence (Jeremy Davies). One day, Finney finds himself the latest victim of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a child abductor and serial killer whose presence haunts the suburbs of Denver. Trapped in a basement, Finney’s only hope of escape comes in the form of a disconnected telephone, which allows him to communicate with the past victims of the Grabber. As Finney tries to break out, Gwen, guided by her psychic dreams, works to find the location of the Grabber.

An excellently acted cast, with a standout against type performance from Hawke.

The Black Phone is a very well-acted film, with special attention going to newcomers Mason Thames and Madeline Shaw. There have been several incredible performances in horror films in recent years, especially in adaptations of Stephen King films, such as Doctor Sleep or the It films. And this movie is no exception. Thames in particular carries a lot of the film by himself and holds his own against a veteran like Ethan Hawke. In particular, both Thames and Shaw are incredibly believable as siblings, and have good chemistry with each other.

However, the real star of the film is Ethan Hawke in a brilliant against type performance as The Grabber. Hawke has proven himself to be very talented in the past, be it his work with Richard Linklater, or performances in films like Training Day or First Reformed. However, for the most part, Hawke has usually played heroic or flawed characters. However, between this role here and his work earlier this year as cult leader Arthur Harrow on the Marvel TV miniseries Moon Knight, Hawke is playing against type as villains. And here, his creepy, scary, and downright sinister performance as The Grabber is worth seeing this movie for alone. Hawke plays the part as sadistic and twisted, hiding it behind a congenial mask, in a way that gives off similar vibes to Ted Levine’s performance as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. Enhancing his performance is the demonic mask that the Grabber wears throughout the movie, changes parts of it for different scenes. And what makes the Grabber even scarier is, like with Michael Meyers in the original Halloween, absolutely nothing is revealed about his past or his motivations, leaving one to speculation. The Grabber’s presence felt throughout the entire movie, making the scenes where Finney tries out different methods of escaping tense and leaving the audience on edge, because you don’t know when the Grabber will show up next. In particular, there’s a scene where Finn wakes up to see the Grabber looming over him, who tells him he wanted to see what he looks like while he sleeps. It’s a line that gives off incredibly creepy pedophilic vibes and brings to mind prolific serial killers like John Wayne Gacy or Jeffrey Dahmer.

The film also has a very good supporting cast as well. There’s Jeremy Davies as Finney and Gwen’s father Terrence. At first, Davies comes across as playing tired old caricature of the drunk, abusive father, highlighted in a very hard-to-watch scene where he beats Gwen with a belt for believing in her psychic dreams. However, there’s a well-acted scene where he opens to Gwen and tells her that her late mother had psychic dreams like her, and that believing in them lead to her eventually committing suicide, and he doesn’t want to see her go down that same path. It in no way justifies or excuses his actions, but it’s surprising and welcomed bit of depth to what would be a two-dimensional character in other hands. Another supporting role comes from James Ranscone as Max, an eccentric, cocaine-snorting neighbor who is obsessed with the Grabber case. Ranscone is good in these scenes, as Max has a look and dress style that just screams stereotypical late 1970s. His scenes are funny and provide a good bit of levity in a dark and tense film, and tie into the main plot rather well in something that goes into spoiler territory.

A refreshingly cynical take on a 70s period piece.

In recent years, there have been several nostalgia-driven takes on the likes of the 1970s and 1980s, driven on by the popularity of the Netflix show Stranger Things. These works are often colorful, look at the decade through rose colored glasses, and reference hallmarks of the time period, and heavily reference popular culture of the time, usually it being in the form of movies and TV shows. And many people, myself included, are getting sick and tired of these types of works. The Black Phone is a cool breath of fresh air in this regard, alongside the likes of movies like Licorice Pizza and Mid90s, as it shows the ugly and unsavory side of their respective time periods that the Stranger Things inspired works tend to downplay or outright ignore. And coincidentally, The Black Phone was released right around the time Stranger Things started airing its fourth season.

Much like the works of Joe Hill’s father Stephen King, the movie explores the ugly side of the times, hitting upon topics like bullying, child abuse, drug use, and most prevalent of all, stranger danger. And while the movie does bring up pop culture of the time, such as Finney and Gwen watching Davey & Goliath or Finney discussing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Enter the Dragon, this is very much downplayed. And the movie deliberately uses muted colors and earthy browns for its general aesthetic, to the point that the movie borderlines on looking sepia tone.

Derrickson’s direction is on point, with its cinematography taking a lot of cues from the horror films of the time, in particular Halloween. The opening credits in particular deserve attention, is it mixes in grainy, 8mm style footage with newspaper clippings on the Grabber. However, one element that works excellently is that after Finney talks to one of the previous victims on the phone, it shows flashbacks of their life filmed in the style of 70s home movies. In particular is the first ghost that Finney talks to Bruce Yamada, as the flashbacks showing him being raised by his parents and developing his love of baseball, before being abducted by the Grabber. It shows that the Grabber’s victims as actual people with lives, which is refreshing because works or documentaries on serial killers place too much emphasis and focus on the killers themselves and do not focus on the lives and people they destroyed.

The Black Phone is Scott Derrickson’s best movie, and the must see horror film of the summer, especially those who are Stephen King fans or fans of 70s horror. Ethan Hawke gives a creepy and sinister against type performance that’s more than worth the ticket price. Both Mason Thames and Madeleine Shaw give fantastic first-time performances, and the film has a good supporting cast with Jeremy Davies and James Ranscone. It’s great rebuttal to nostalgia-worshipping works of recent years, as it shows the ugly side of the times, while also taking subtle influences from 70s horror. It’ll hopefully lead to more adaptations of Joe Hill’s work of this caliber of quality.

The Black Phone is currently in theaters and also available on Video-on-Demand.