Horror author Joe Hill is on a roll recently, with two new movies coming up this year. Black Phone 2 is the sequel to The Black Phone, which was based on a story written by Hill, and Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is not only based on his short story, but Hill also co-wrote the screenplay.
Joe Hill is a notable author, having written such critically acclaimed novels as NOS4A2, Heart-Shaped Box, The Fireman and Horns. His stories that have been into movies or series include NOS4A2, Horns, The Black Phone, In the Tall Grass, Locke & Key, and three different tales for Shudder horror anthology series Creepshow.
And yes, Joe also happens to be the son of Stephen King…but he is a very talented writer all on his own, and if you haven’t read Heart-Shaped Box, you should!
RLJE and Shudder’s Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story will come to the big screen on July 11. It’s a unique perspective on Bram Stoker’s character of the vampire Dracula, told from the point of view of Abraham Van Helsings sons, Max and Rudy. The two have been over-protected by their father, and naturally don’t understand why. But as they start to realize Van Helsing’s story, they are forced to recognize their destinies.
RLJE’s Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward refers to Abraham’s Boys as “a gripping, character-driven story that drags Van Helsing’s past into the light – whether his sons are ready for it or not.”
Black Phone 2 will get its theatrical release on October 17
The Black Phone was released in 2021, and due to its financial success, director Scott Derrickson was immediately open to a sequel (this despite the fact that the film’s big bad, The Grabber, was killed in the first film).
According to Derrickson, Hill had spoken to him about a potential plotline for a sequel, and that’s where it all began. In the first film, Young Finney was kidnapped by The Grabber, a man in a terrifying mask who was responsible for the disappearances and murders of several other teens.
Finney’s sister Gwen begins to have dreams about The Grabber, and ended up discovering where the killer was hiding her brother. Finney ended up killing his abductor.
In Black Phone 2, Finney struggles to get back to “normal life” after the trauma he has suffered. Meanwhile, Gwen is again having bad dreams, receiving phone calls from the black phone, and seeing “disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp.”
She and Finn set out to find the camp, and end up confronting The Grabber. Madeleine McGraw, Mason Thames, Jeremy Davies and Ethan Hawke have all returned for the sequel.