The Black Phone Review: A Thrilling But Convoluted Serial Killer Story
The Black Phone is a chilling horror-thriller with a creepy performance from Ethan Hawke - packaged in a convoluted supernatural serial killer story.
The Black Phone (2022)
Based on Joe Hill's short story of the same name, The Black Phone follows teen Finney Blake (Mason Thames) after he is abducted by a man known only as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Trapped in a basement with only a disconnected phone, Finney begins to hear from the Grabber's previous victims, each of which gives him cryptic clues to help him fight back against his captor.
The Black Phone
- Director
- Scott Derrickson
- Release Date
- June 24, 2022
- Studio(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Cast
- Ethan Hawke , Mason Thames , Brady Hepner , James Ransone , Jordan Isaiah White , Jeremy Davies , Jacob Moran , Madeleine McGraw
- Writers
- C. Robert Cargill , Scott Derrickson
- Runtime
- 102 minutes
- Budget
- $18.8 million
Summary
The Black Phone is a horror/thriller film based on the short story of the same name by Joe Hill, the son of Stephen King. Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims, victims who are set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney. With help seemingly not coming, Finney's best chance at survival is following the disembodied voices' instructions carefully while surviving the mind games of the grabber. Scott Derrickson directed the Black Phone, and though it initially premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2021, the film was released theatrically on June 24 2022, in North America.
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