Written by: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Demián Bichir, Ethan Hawke
Rating: [3/5]
When films have a definitive ending to them within one cohesive story, the effort to follow it up with a sequel demands some explanation. How do we go from one character meeting their end to somehow they return to continue terrorizing the characters within this story. Luckily, in Black Phone 2 not only does it serve as an improvement from its predecessor but also adds a ghostly element to it that allows for far more intriguing frights.
Still reckoning of the horrific experience involving the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), Finney (Mason Thames) stills sees visions of this monster. When his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins to have visions of children that went missing at a camp at the hands of the Grabber, it leads them to travel there. As they arrive, they soon learn that the Grabber may not have a physical presence but does through something supernatural.
After not liking The Black Phone all that much, entering again into the world of Joe Hill’s serial killer did not necessarily excite me. However, Scott Derrickson has built enough equity where if he finds value in going back to the well with this story then I would give it a chance and I’m glad I did. The speculative nature in me leads me to believe that the much of the success of this film came from Derrickson and this writing partner, C. Robert Cargill expanding beyond the constraints of following the story in the book in their first movie. This sequel allowed for something more expansive and it proved for the better.
As these characters arrive at Alpine Lake camp, the feature quickly establishes this freezing cold environment coupled with this general feeling of discomfort of what they will find. The first film established the Grabber had many victims of his terror and this film asserts all of this began right here at this camp with this therefore serving as the origin story of this monstrous figure. We continue to learn that this figure’s history runs deep in this community as the staff, which includes Armando (Demián Bichir), recount when they interacted with the serial killer before he went down the deep end. It proves it will take a group effort to finally vanquish this world from this killer, and hopefully find the boys reaching out to Gwen asking for their bodies to be found. This element of the film provides an emotional component I did not anticipate but added so much to the connection we have to these characters.
Seeing as this film serves as a look at the origin of the Grabber, it also reveals some intriguing threads of the Finney and Gwen’s family in connection to this killer that also surprised. It sought to bridge a connection to make this all one cohesive story as the films indicates that nothing the Grabber does happens coincidentally, which again adds another emotionally cogent element to this story that completely took me aback. With the foundation set with these characters, Derrickson and Cargill do a strong job on building onto what we already know and further enriching these youngsters.
Ethan Hawke as the Grabber served as the main selling point of the first film, along with the memorable mask he wears. This character had the makings for an iconic villainous figure, and seeing him return as this Freddy Krueger type of antagonist allowed him to have much more fun. It certainly shows in how the Grabber interacts with both Finney and Gwen throughout the movie as this supernatural being easily gliding around and wreaking havoc. All the varying scenarios in which he appears in conjunction with the cinematography displays a such a grainy visual environment whenever the killer appears to further add to the distress involved.
Stuck in a snowy and isolated camp with a supernatural serial killer on the loose, Black Phone 2 deliver an entertaining time and some good solid horror. You should not spend too much time trying to get through the logic of how this all works but Scott Derrickson delivers on a character and visual level with this sequel as it improves from the previous film on every level. Ethan Hawke receives another opportunity to ham it up as this villain and he thrives once again.
Films with Josh 
