Black Phone 2
Though a supernatural horror, 2021’s The Black Phone was still relatively grounded in reality. The premise of a child abductor prowling the streets of a small Colorado suburb was all the more terrifying due to its relatability. While Gwen’s (Madeleine McGraw) psychic powers were the main otherworldly element in the first film, the supernatural takes centre stage in Black Phone 2.
The sequel is set in 1982, four years after the original events. After killing the Freddy Kreuger-esque The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) at the end of the last film, Finney (Mason Thames) is haunted by memories of being trapped in the masked abductor’s basement. Likewise, his sister, Gwen, is having recurrent nightmares of the children that The Grabber butchered.
Director Scott Derrickson does an excellent job of merging psychological horror with supernatural tropes. The dreamlike sequences are filmed with a grainy 1980s camcorder aesthetic, which conjures an uncanny terror simultaneously seeped in wistful nostalgia. They are, in turn, beautifully evocative.
Having matured since the horrors of the original, Thames and McGraw make two likeable leads, with both seemingly having found their feet as actors. Thames is highly convincing as a neglected teenager who feels the need to adopt a veneer of machismo over his younger sister. Likewise, McGraw, whose role is altogether more challenging, is fantastic in embodying the visceral apparent psychosis of Gwen. The Black Phone showed Hawke in a decidedly different – and creepy – light, and he works his macabre magic here. Despite having the least amount of screen time, he once again delivers a memorably grisly performance.
For all its aesthetic achievements, the film wears its influences a little too clearly on its sleeve. It can best be described as A Nightmare on Elm Street meets It. Fittingly, Joe Hill, on whose works the films are based, is the son of Stephen King. And, as expected from the offspring of the King of Horror, there are religious allegories aplenty, which come across as somewhat tired. There’s also a little too much emphasis on expositional dialogue and flashbacks to make the movie as digestible for newbies as possible. That said, the story may be a slowburner, but the pay-off is worth waiting for.
Black Phone 2 expands on the lore of the original with ample gore and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Sure to satisfy horror aficionados, it proves itself a potential franchise-worthy slasher.
Antonia Georgiou
Black Phone 2 is released nationwide on 17th October 2025.
Watch the trailer for Black Phone 2 here:
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