Director and writer duo Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill reunited once again to make a sequel to 2022's The Black Phone. At first I was skeptical when the prospect of a potential sequel started making the rounds, given the original is based on a short story that never had a sequel of its own. However at the screening we heard from screenwriter Cargill that he "would never make a sequel unless they had a great idea". Even he and Derrickson were doubtful of it until Joe Hill, the writer of the short story and son of Stephen King, pitched them an idea for a sequel the duo fell in love with. With that they were off to making The Black Phone 2, and I'm thrilled to report that not only is this idea great, it's executed so well it may be in the conversation of sequels that are better than the original.
The Black Phone 2 takes place four years after the events of the original, now being set in the early 80s. Right off the bat I appreciated that the film took the time to show how each character has evolved in the last four years due to the events of the original film. Finn (Mason Thames) has become more hardened and callous, to the point where he's getting into violent fist fights with students much like the ones who told Gwen to avoid gawking at in the original. Meanwhile Gwen is more anxious and quiet about her heightened supernatural senses due to bullying from her peers, though she still continues learning about it through research with her reading books about clairvoyance and the afterlife. Even the father, who was a drunken husk of a person in the original is now sober and has more of a positive glow on screen, again. Getting a check up on how everyone is doing after the Grabbers reign of terror ended in 1977 was a great way to settle back into the world of the Black Phone. Swiftly after our catch up with the main characters, we're blessed with some horrifying visuals of undead kids sprawled around a snowy woodland camp, accompanied by the raspy voice of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke).
Ethan Hawke returns as The Grabber like you've never seen him before. The Grabber goes from depraved serial killer to sinister supernatural force full on Freddy Krueger style, which is 100% what was needed to take the character to new heights for the sequel. His transformation throughout the film was fun to see as well, it felt like each scene he began to look more and more decrepit and rotten. Big props to the special effects and makeup teams here, it's gnarly stuff. The Grabber is also given more background to his career as a serial killer and a disturbing connection to Gwen and Finn's family; a choice I feel may be polarizing to some fans, but I found it to be a fun way to level the third act stakes.
The film's performances are top notch, with Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke, Damian Bichir, Miguel Mora and Arianna Rivas giving their all. However the powerhouse performance of the film comes from Madeleine McGraw as Gwen, her character being the driving force through their journey to the youth camp. She also delivers an emotional tearjerking performance in the film's third act.
Another admirable aspect to the film was its setting, a remote youth camp covered in snow with an iced over lake and wind howling through the mountains. There's times where it truly does feel like hell frozen over and makes me even more annoyed we haven't had an official Friday the 13th film set in an ice covered Crystal Lake. This setting also makes way for a fun fight scene with between the kids and The Grabber on ice skates fighting on a frozen lake. Scott Derrickson also uses his signature Super 8 film style sequences pretty frequently in this one, a staple of his filmography going all the way back to Sinister, it adds a creepy layer to some already disturbing dream sequences. Speaking of dream sequences, the comparisons between this film and A Nightmare on Elm Street are more than fair, and I mean that in a good way. There are so many moments and sequences that felt like they came right from the pages of a Freddy Krueger scene, and honestly, if we're not going to get a new Nightmare anytime soon, this holds us over well!
Overall, The Black Phone 2 is serves as a remarkable follow up to the original and takes The Grabber and his victims to new horrifying heights. It's got intense scares, masterful performances, and a serviceable amount of bloodshed, all while expanding the lore of The Grabber even further. While I may need to give it another watch or two, it's not out of the possibility for this to be considered better than the original. It's a mean spirited, bloody and chilling nightmare. Don’t leave this one ringing horror fans, show up for it. Maybe we'll get The Black Phone 3: Phone Warriors.
The Black Phone comes to theaters on October 17th, 2025.
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