The Black Phone, the film festival darling from director Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange), mostly lives up to the hype thanks to some excellently crafted scares and a strong central character arc.
The Black Phone, based on a short story of the same name by Joe Hill, follows Finney Shaw (Mason Thames), a young boy who is trapped in a soundproof basement, by a deranged mask killer known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). However, he’s not alone as Finney can communicate with The Grabber’s past victims through a mysterious black phone in the room. Finney, with their help, attempts to find a way to both turn the tables on The Grabber, and ultimately escape. Like Joe Hill, himself, The Black Phone shares a lot of DNA with Stephen King (Hill is King’s real-life son) as it embodies a great mix of grounded and otherworldly horrors that come together in a personal character-driven narrative.
Derrickson and his usual co-writer C. Robert Cargill craft a world that showcases plenty of horror even before Finney is in The Grabber’s clutches. There’s a fight between Finney’s friend and often protector Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) and a giant school bully which showcases how bloody and violent Finney’s world is. Finney isn’t the most confident or tough kid is his school, far from it honestly, and without Robin or his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) by his side, Finney is a serious target for other kids. To make matters worse Finney also struggles at home with his alcoholic and abusive father (Jeremy Davies). Derrickson holds nothing back in showing the dark and disturbing atmosphere that Finney and Gwen live in. Seriously, there’s a moment between Gwen and the father that’s completely unnerving and might be the scariest part of the entire film.
Derrickson expertly builds up to The Grabber nabbing Finney by giving us small glimpses of The Grabber kidnapping other kids. There are brief moments where Finney talks to different kinds before they’re taken. This works really well in establishing a connection between for when they talk later. Derrickson actually does a great job intertwining their stories as Finney talks to them and creates these surprisingly emotional (and sometimes scary sequences_ that make each kid more memorable. Derrickson also brings back the Super 8 style aesthetics that made Sinister so unsettling for flashbacks and it’s a visual style of his that never gets old.
After Finney is taken by The Grabber, the best parts of The Black Phone flourish and it becomes a terrifying cat and mouse game complete with superb supernatural elements. First, the soundproof room that Finney finds himself in is legitimately the stuff of nightmares as its realistic, dingy look seemingly presents little room to escape which makes Finney feel more isolated. Then there’s that black phone that’s shown to be broken but somehow still rings to connect Finney with past victims. The sound design is pretty perfect as waves of silence are suddenly broken by the ringing of the phone and there are some great uses of this environment that elevate the experience. Also, the way that The Grabber turns on lights before he enters makes his sudden presence catch you off guard and with each conversation Finney has with a past victim, the room expands with the different methods he can try to escape with.
Finney’s resourcefulness is genuinely one of his best qualities. He’s a smart character who may not have the strength to fend off The Grabber but has the ingenuity to better his chances at survival. Mason Thames delivers a strong, breakout performance that embodies all the emotions anyone could feel in this situation that range from swift determination to devastating defeat. Madeleine McGraw also delivers a breakout performance as Gwen. It’s really intriguing how her story intertwines with Finney’s throughout the film. While Finney is trapped, Gwen has vivid dreams that help her figure out where he and The Grabber are. This adds another layer to the growing mystery. McGraw makes Gwen an easy crowd favorite through her relentless determination to find Finney and the way she embodies the strength that he doesn’t have. She even gets a darkly comedic moment in the film during one of her religious conversations and there’s actually a great use of dark comedy in the film to break up the horror.
Ethan Hawke’s performance as The Grabber will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable parts of The Black Phone because its subtly terrifying and constantly gets under your skin. Outside of Moon Knight recently, it’s pretty rare to see Hawke in a villain role like this, but he totally nails it. He makes The Grabber this mysterious, but clearly psychotic force that makes you clench every time he appears on-screen. Initially, it was tough to see why people were talking so much about Grabber’s mask (created by the legendary Tom Savini). It’s so plain yet there are transformative parts to it that are amazing and play a great role in making The Grabber’s presence more daunting.
Hawke definitely makes The Grabber a noteworthy slasher in the genre, but it’s hard not to feel like his story is super underwhelming.
As said before, The Black Phone had a lot of hype surrounding it, yet certain parts of its story, mainly with The Grabber, leave little to be desired. Throughout the film, the idea of why The Grabber is taking kids and what his real intentions are are built up, but they never really go anywhere. Truthfully, you don’t find much out about him and the final bout between he and Finney feels a little too barebones. Perhaps the lack of information is meant to make viewers horrified by the possibilities, but it’s not enough to make The Grabber a more compelling character. It’s hard not to find yourself a little unsatisfied with how his story has no depth.
While The Black Phone’s killer might be underutilized, its central story is not and the great thrills and coming of age storytelling are truly some of Derrickson and Cargill’s best work. Every time one of the past victims comes on-screen, you feel more drawn to their stories and the information their providing Finney. Derrickson clearly loves the idea of ghost kids, and The Black Phone’s are excellently designed as the scares, the visuals of them in the room with Finney, and the sound work to have their voice sound like it does in the phone work in giving them great screen presence. There are also some great mystery thrills surrounding how close Gwen and the police are to Finney, but don’t realize it and Sinister fans will be happy to know that James Ransone reunites with Derrickson and Hawke as another detective, but not the kind you’d expect.
The best aspect though is Finney’s personal arc as he slowly gains the confidence and strength to take on The Grabber. Finney is a crafty kid, but just doesn’t have the confidence to take on big threats like The Grabber. However, just as he hits a low point, Finney finds the strength in talking with a former friend and it’s an incredibly empowering moment. The sequence of Finney learning how to fight should become an iconic moment in the horror genre and Derrickson’s direction takes new form here. He proves multiple times in The Black Phone that he can really scare the hell out of audiences, but with Finney’s arc he helps elevate the more personal and emotional aspects of the story and it’s definitely where the King DNA feels the most prevalent.
The Black Phone might be a little overhyped in certain aspects and it’s tough to say if it’s more groundbreaking than Sinister, but it’s ultimately a great horror experience full of engaging scares, personal arcs, and breakout performances that ensnare viewers into a tense and exhilarating game of survival.
