Black Phone 2

Director: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Demián Bichir, Jeremy Davies, Miguel Mora, Arianna Rivas, Anna Lore, Graham Abbey, Maev Beaty, James Ransone
Running Time: 114 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)    

To its credit, Black Phone 2 doesn't take the easy way out, with director Scott Derrickson resisting the urge to retrace the steps of his creepy original by instead taking things in an entirely different direction. No longer working from Joe Hill's short story on which the first film was based, it utilizes the author's idea for a follow-up, creating a worthy next chapter that expands the Grabber's universe beyond what we previously assumed. Echoing themes from A Nightmare on Elm Street while incorporating a frigid, desolate setting that recalls The Shining, it leans further into the supernatural by suggesting death was just the beginning for this killer looking to finish what he started.

Most horror films avoid fleshing out a backstory for their villain since it's difficult coming up with an idea that doesn't diminish our fear of the unknown. Here, Derrickson takes a risk by actually giving evil a name and past while the surviving characters he terrorized struggle to move past their trauma. And now that he's phoning back from beyond, there's no choice but to answer, as the lines separating dreams from reality get even blurrier. 

It's 1982 and four years have passed since Finney Blake (Mason Thames) killed his abductor, the masked murderer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Burying his emotional pain by constantly fighting at school, younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) is having nightmares about a series of brutal murders that took place at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957, where their deceased mother once worked as a counselor. Despite dad Terrence's (Jeremy Davies) objections, she obsesses over finding answers, convincing Finney and classmate Ernesto (Miguel Mora) to travel with her to the camp. 

Upon arriving, a blizzard traps the three there with camp supervisor Armando (Demián Bichir), his niece Mustang (Arianna Rivas) and skeptical employees Kenneth (Graham Abbey) and Barbara (Maev Beaty) But when mysterious calls start coming from an abandoned, inoperative pay phone and Gwen's disturbing nightmares worsen, they realize the Grabber may have been responsible for the 1952 murders of those  campers. Only he's back, entering Gwen's dreams to get revenge on Finney. To stop him they'll need to locate the victims' bodies, in the process uncovering frightening truths about the Grabber's past. 

While the last film took place almost entirely within the confines of a darkened basement and revolved around a simple, straightforward premise, it did have an unmistakable look and feel Derrickson used to invoke a sense of oncoming dread. Here, his sequel ups the ante, and if it's become a running joke that horror killers never really die, he and co-writer C. Robert Cargill use this to their advantage, concocting a clever way to resurrect the Grabber that ties details we already know to others not yet revealed.  

Taking place in a snowy, haunted camp with Overlook Hotel vibes, cinematographer Pär M. Ekberg channels a grainy, 70's aesthetic filled with trippy dreamscape sequences that feel akin to stepping into an old Super 8 movie. And it's jaw dropping shots like the old phone booth standing in the frozen tundra or a dazed Gwen being confronted by visions of the Grabber's burned and battered victims that help the film maintain a malevolent, unsettling tone throughout. 

These characters also evolve in dramatically satisfying ways following the events that befell them four years earlier. McGraw's Gwen is upgraded to full fledged protagonist as she battles Finney's dead captor, who's taken a page or two from Freddy Krueger's playbook. And the pain and punishment he inflicts in her dreams very much carries over to reality, making it far safer to stay awake, even if that remains at odds with what she's hoping to accomplish.  

In a heavily expanded role, McGraw gives a powerhouse performance as Gwen, while Thames effectively portrays the angry teen in a state of detached denial, burying his fear behind apathy and pot. More like his alcoholic father than he'd ever admit, he's heading down a similar path of self loathing and regret unless he pulls it together. Bechir is tremendous as the kind, strong-willed camp owner, valuable for his own connection to the Grabber and as the only adult who believes them. 

Despite being the brother of a past victim, Mora's Ernesto is still little more than an appendage, his romantic sub-plot with Gwen providing a serviceable enough diversion. But the script skillfully uses Finney and Gwen's late mother Hope (Anna Lore) as a vessel to join past and present, culminating in a spectacularly filmed sequence that finds Gwen entering her mom's dreams, piecing together the Grabber's history as she comes to a shocking realization. 

Derrickson settles into a more predictable rhythm when the gang attempts to vanquish the beast, but it's still a hallucinatory ride, building on the goodwill garnered in the previous installment. Though we rarely "need" sequels, it's always a relief when we get one this ambitious. Transfixing but oddly repetitive at points, it boasts a more threatening antagonist and even better atmosphere than its predecessor, reaping the rewards of taking place in an icy hell from which there's no escape.