A new image from The Black Phone shows a masked Ethan Hawke as the blood-splattered serial killer, The Grabber. Based on Joe Hill’s short story of the same name, the upcoming film tells the story of a string of child abductions in 1970s Colorado. When The Grabber traps his latest victim, Finney Shaw, in his soundproof basement, the boy tries to escape with the help of an old, supernatural telephone affixed to the wall.
The Black Phone’s screenplay comes from frequent collaborators C. Robert Cargill and director Scott Derrickson. The pair previously co-wrote the scripts for Sinister (their first collab with Hawke) and its sequel, as well as Doctor Strange, all of which were directed by Derrickson. Derrickson was initially set to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before creative differences led him to leave the project. The Black Phone marks Derrickson’s first feature film since parting ways with Marvel Studios.
Now, Empire has revealed a gruesome new photo of Hawke as The Grabber. The antagonist is wearing a horned, cracked mask that was designed by famed prosthetic artist, Tom Savini. Savini is known for his makeup and special effects in Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Per Derrickson, the crew worked tirelessly to recreate Savini’s sketches. “We spent two solid months just rejecting the things that they were sending me,” says the director. “It was much more of a challenge than I was expecting.” Check out Hawke in his Savini-approved mask below:
The pictured mask is just one of many that Hawke will wear over the course of the film. Hawke could be seen wearing a cleaner, uncracked version of the disguise back in September when Derrickson dropped first look images for The Black Phone. The new images suggest that The Grabber’s stony mask will severely degrade throughout the movie, chipping away as the killer’s face is increasingly caked with blood. That Hawke is wielding an axe also suggests that things only get grimmer for Finney Shaw.
The Black Phone received a positive reception following its September 25, 2021, premiere at Fantastic Fest. Fans will have to wait until its theatrical release on February 4 to see Hawke and his cast members Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and James Ransone chop it up onscreen. Audiences are particularly anticipating Hawke’s return to horror, with the actor having previously starred in the aforementioned Sinister and The Purge. Hawke’s mask in The Black Phone may be scary, but it’s his chilling demeanor and physicality that will surely keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Source: Empire
