Watch the terrifying new trailer for Universal/Blumhouse film The Black Phone

After two release delays due to COVID, the highly anticipated horror film The Black Phone will debut at Tribeca in June, followed by wide release on June 24.

The Black Phone had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in September of 2021, where it received a lot of good feedback, and based on the trailers, we at 1428 Elm are excited to see it on the big screen in June.

An official trailer was released for The Black Phone back in October, and the second official trailer hit on April 26. Both trailers are very intriguing and frightening, and let’s just say that Ethan Hawke’s characterization of “The Grabber” looks both terrifying and amazing.

The film is based on the short story of the same title by Joe Hill, and was included in his collection 20th Century Ghosts. Not familiar with Hill? It’s time you remedied that, he is one of the best horror writers out there, and brought us such dark treats as NOS4A2, Locke and Key, Horns, and my personal favorite, Heart-Shaped Box. I had the honor of interviewing him last year, and if you are interested, you can still read it on the site.

Based on the two trailers and a little internet sleuthing, here is what we know about the plotline for The Black Phone:

The film is set in 1978, when five children disappear in a small town in Colorado. Unfortunately for him, young Finney (Mason Thames) is one of the missing, and he is locked in a creepy looking basement that appears to contain a cot, a wall-mounted phone and little else.

That phone is disconnected…except, it tends to ring when Finney’s terrifying captor (Ethan Hawke) is not there, and on the other end are the voices of The Grabber’s prior victims, who want to help Finney escape their fates. Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) is having visions of the house Finney is being kept in, and of the murdered kids. She also knows that The Grabber has black balloons, which is a detail that his been withheld from the press, meaning that law enforcement may be more inclined to listen to her. Or maybe not.

Presented by Universal and Blumhouse, The Black Phone is produced, directed and co-written by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, Marvel’s Doctor Strange).

Are you ready to return to theaters to watch The Black Phone? Tell us why or why not in the comments section.