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.                           

The Black Phone

Director: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies, E. Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal, James Ransone, Miguel Cazarez Mora, Rebecca Clarke, J. Gaven Wilde, Spencer Fitzgerald, Jordan Isaiah White, Brady Ryan, Tristan Pravong, Jacob Moran, Brady Hepner, Banks Repeta
Running Time: 103 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

A crime thriller and supernatural slasher make for strange bedfellows in writer/director Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone. Adapted from a 2004 short story by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King), it's easy to see why this has gotten so much attention since there's much to admire, with some really affecting performances from its young actors and an outrageously villainous turn from a major star that feels like a drastic departure. It also sees the underrated Derrickson (Sinister and Dr. Strange) further proving his chops by bringing a certain amount of respectability and craftmanship to some familiar tropes we've seen executed far clumsier in the past. And even when mechanically fulfilling certain required beats of the plot, he still manages to keep tension high throughout, thanks in no small part to a realistically unnerving period backdrop.

Containing some effective jump scares, it opens as almost a 70's true crime docudrama before merging with a horror entry mainstream enough for its antagonist to draw comparisons to Michael Myers, Jason or Jigsaw. His methods and idealology might be different, but the spectacle is there, with an instantly iconic look that would sell truckloads of Halloween masks each year if not for the marketing hurdle that the villain's a child abductor. And that's the push-pull of this creep fest Derrickson admirably navigates with a visual aesthetic dripping in the era in which it takes place. Because of the disturbing subject matter, certain moments can be taken very seriously, as the gears grind on a plot that delivers extreme discomfort alongside its entertainment.  

In 1978 a serial kidnapper nicknamed "The Grabber"(Ethan Hawke) roams the streets of a small Denver suburb in his black van searching for his next target while siblings Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen Blake (Madeleine McGraw) struggle to contend with their alcoholic, physically abusive father Terrence (Jeremy Davies). At school, the shy Finney is constantly bullied, with his only friend Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) coming to the rescue but recognizing Finney will eventually have to stand up for himself. 

With The Grabber's victims growing in number as Finney's classmates disappear, Gwen (who's inherited her late mother's psychic abilities) starts having dreams about the crimes that pique police  interest. But they'll need her help when Finney's abducted by The Grabber, awaking in a grungy basement with a disconnected black rotary phone on the wall ringing mysteriously. To escape, he'll have to listen to the voices of the previous victims making contact on the line, guiding him as he finds the courage to outmaneuver this masked monster. 

Establishing itself in a way most horror entries don't, this carries an aura of authenticity that completely draws you into the setting. From the sights and sounds to the 70's soundtrack and wardrobe choices, it's all more than mere window dressing when juxtaposed with news-style footage of the kidnappings. This overpromises in teasing a scenario you're just not sure Derrickson's script (co-penned by C. Robert Cargill) can deliver on, as we dread what potential creative concessions will come to make it more audience-friendly. Those eventually arrive, but for its opening stretch, a mood and atmosphere is established that feels truly unique. 

Believably creating a deep onscreen sibling bond, Thames and McGraw's performances are might be the film's biggest asset, as their scenes opposite a bearded, unhinged Davies carry a uneasiness matched only by the school-set bullying sequences. And a couple of those are realistically violent enough to seem completely at home in the era, relying far more on the build than copious amounts of gore. Derrickson also wisely keeps The Grabber out of view in the initial stages, saving most of the character's best scenes for when Finney ends up in his clutches. 

Coming and going as the plot dictates, Gwen's psychic visions are the story's weakest link, but McGraw's such a revelation in the role you overlook it, bringing humor, warmth and spunk to a girl who doesn't toe the line and is as protective of her brother as he is of her. Still, it's tempting to imagine how it all could have played without her Shining-like powers dictating the plot since so much of this is already strong enough on its own. While the supernatural flourishes don't ever quite reconcile with the viciousness of the actual crimes, an exception comes with a spectacularly filmed sequence where Gwen's visions take her inside the personal history of someone who could have all the answers.

If the black phone of the title connecting Finney to The Grabber's victims sometimes feels gimmicky, the cat-and-mouse game between captor and captive doesn't. It mostly overcomes genre contrivances since Finney's backstory as an under-confident pushover powers the narrative forward as he attempts to somehow gain an advantage on his abductor. With a handful of black balloons and a smiling mask inspired by Lon Chaney's character in London After Midnight, Ethan Hawke's all in as this deranged child murderer fronting as an amateur magician. It's hard not to draw comparisons to Pennnywise or a demented Willy Wonka, but Hawke makes this top-hatted madman his own and the last act delivers what's expected about as well as possible. 

All the ingredients were there for this to entirely break from convention and put more standard horror fare to shame, but that's just not what the source material is, earning the remainder of its points from Brett Jutkiewicz's cinematography and Patti Podesta's production design. Of Blumhouse's recent releases, The Black Phone stands as one of its more ambitious, doing enough to please devotees of Hill's short story and fans of the unquestionably talented Derrickson, whose best film is likely still ahead of him.