I love Sinister, it’s one of my all-time favourite horror films, so to say I was excited for The Black Phone is a little bit of an understatement. Scott Derrickson returning to supernatural horror and collaborating with Ethan Hawke once more was sure to be a success, but The Black Phone was not quite the film I was expecting and that’s not entirely a bad thing.
A string of child abductions in the Denver area have left families extremely weary. The reality of the situation comes crashing home for siblings Finny (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) when one of Finney’s friends, Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) is abducted. It doesn’t take long though for ‘The Grabber’ (Ethan Hawke) to strike again, this time taking Finney and locking him in a soundproofed basement. Whilst down there, Finny is contacted by The Grabber’s previous victims via a disconnected phone on the wall. Meanwhile Gwen has premonitions about Finney’s whereabouts and attempts to aid the police in their search.
A string of child abductions in the Denver area have left families extremely weary. The reality of the situation comes crashing home for siblings Finny (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) when one of Finney’s friends, Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) is abducted. It doesn’t take long though for ‘The Grabber’ (Ethan Hawke) to strike again, this time taking Finney and locking him in a soundproofed basement. Whilst down there, Finny is contacted by The Grabber’s previous victims via a disconnected phone on the wall. Meanwhile Gwen has premonitions about Finney’s whereabouts and attempts to aid the police in their search.
The Black Phone manages to capture the 1970’s aesthetic perfectly, all the way down to its depiction of the era’s paranoia over stranger danger. It starts off with some really heavy subject matter surrounding violence against children in the form of domestic abuse and bullying, all whilst The Grabber lurks in the background of shots, akin to Michael Myers from Halloween, scouting his next victim. I had hoped that these elements would have carried more weight later in the film, but they’re dropped the moment that Finney is abducted; going so far as Finney & Gwen’s alcoholic and abusive father (Jeremy Davies) becoming considerably more sympathetic towards his daughter once his son’s life hangs in the balance. A move that felt unearned considering his heinous violent outbursts during the opening act.
Derrickson’s previous films have always struggled to find a balance between crime thriller and supernatural horror, and whilst The Black Phone continues to struggle with that balance it doesn’t feel as jarring. The supernatural elements aren’t used for jump scares, and because Gwen is the only character who can actually see the ghosts of The Grabber’s past victims, they feel more like forgotten fading memories than spirits. The Black Phone is more sad than scary, whilst it definitely leaves a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach because of the child abuse and the idea of having a killer live in everyday suburbia, it doesn’t terrify in the same way I expected…especially because of how the trailer is put together.
Hawke’s performance as The Grabber is the most terrifying and entertaining aspect of the whole film. We’re given almost no information about who this man really is over the course of the film, but the way that Hawke plays him allows for so much to be communicated physically and with subtle dialogue cues. The mask donning murderer flits between personalities dependant on the kind of mask he is wearing, and his physical presence alters depending on whether he needs to appear thin and gangly to be more agile and sinister, or whether he needs to be broader and more imposing like when he’s physically threatening Finney.
I also enjoyed the performances of Thames & McGill. It’s not often you get a child actor who can perform with the same level of competency as adult actors, but to have two that still remain memorable alongside the eccentric performance of Hawke is something to be applauded. I do wish that McGill had been given a bit more to do, because as it stands she is the story’s Deus ex-machina and that’s pretty much it.
I also want to quickly touch on the film’s aesthetic. Sinister employed the use of Super8 film cameras to get the grainy home movie effect desired for the snuff film segments, here in The Black Phone you get the same kind of effect all of the time. The colours have been de-saturated, the film grain cranked right up with imperfections placed on top of the image in post to give this film some period authenticity and it works wonders. Not only that, but this low-tech approach makes the more sinister lighting used in The Grabber’s house far more effective and plays off the masks really well. Visually, The Black Phone nails this 70’s horror movie vibe and it does wonders for trying to sell you on the reality of it all.
The Black Phone is another excellent supernatural horror from Derrickson. Between the upsetting subject matter, Hawke’s mesmerising performance, and the period appropriate visual design, The Black Phone is a horror film I highly recommend seeking out. It still struggles to find the right balance between fantasy and reality at times, and it won’t scratch the itch for jump scares, but The Black Phone does enough to get under your skin and make you feel suitably uncomfortable for quite some time after the credits roll.
Derrickson’s previous films have always struggled to find a balance between crime thriller and supernatural horror, and whilst The Black Phone continues to struggle with that balance it doesn’t feel as jarring. The supernatural elements aren’t used for jump scares, and because Gwen is the only character who can actually see the ghosts of The Grabber’s past victims, they feel more like forgotten fading memories than spirits. The Black Phone is more sad than scary, whilst it definitely leaves a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach because of the child abuse and the idea of having a killer live in everyday suburbia, it doesn’t terrify in the same way I expected…especially because of how the trailer is put together.
Hawke’s performance as The Grabber is the most terrifying and entertaining aspect of the whole film. We’re given almost no information about who this man really is over the course of the film, but the way that Hawke plays him allows for so much to be communicated physically and with subtle dialogue cues. The mask donning murderer flits between personalities dependant on the kind of mask he is wearing, and his physical presence alters depending on whether he needs to appear thin and gangly to be more agile and sinister, or whether he needs to be broader and more imposing like when he’s physically threatening Finney.
I also enjoyed the performances of Thames & McGill. It’s not often you get a child actor who can perform with the same level of competency as adult actors, but to have two that still remain memorable alongside the eccentric performance of Hawke is something to be applauded. I do wish that McGill had been given a bit more to do, because as it stands she is the story’s Deus ex-machina and that’s pretty much it.
I also want to quickly touch on the film’s aesthetic. Sinister employed the use of Super8 film cameras to get the grainy home movie effect desired for the snuff film segments, here in The Black Phone you get the same kind of effect all of the time. The colours have been de-saturated, the film grain cranked right up with imperfections placed on top of the image in post to give this film some period authenticity and it works wonders. Not only that, but this low-tech approach makes the more sinister lighting used in The Grabber’s house far more effective and plays off the masks really well. Visually, The Black Phone nails this 70’s horror movie vibe and it does wonders for trying to sell you on the reality of it all.
The Black Phone is another excellent supernatural horror from Derrickson. Between the upsetting subject matter, Hawke’s mesmerising performance, and the period appropriate visual design, The Black Phone is a horror film I highly recommend seeking out. It still struggles to find the right balance between fantasy and reality at times, and it won’t scratch the itch for jump scares, but The Black Phone does enough to get under your skin and make you feel suitably uncomfortable for quite some time after the credits roll.