Like Derrickson’s breakthrough picture, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Black Phone is steeped in conventional horror tropes that, while predictable, are expertly handled to create tension and threat. The Black Phone is available to rent, buy or stream.
The 1970s are often viewed through a lens of freedom, music and style, as seen in films such as Licorice Pizza and Almost Famous. But underneath the veneer of freedom and rebellion, the ’70s were also wrapped in darkness. This was the decade that brought us Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Yorkshire Ripper, and John Wayne Gacy, along with rising crime and economic hardship.
In The Black Phone, based on a short story by Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son, Scott Derrickson reflects on the social fears of the ’70s, drawing inspiration from serial killers such as Gacy and the lesser-known Dean Corll, in his first directorial outing since Doctor Strange.
Denver is plagued by a mysterious figure known as ‘The Grabber’, according to local reports. But this cloaked figure doesn’t hide in the darkness; instead, he snatches young teen boys in broad daylight, his victims never to be seen again. Finney (Mason Thames) and his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) live in fear of the mysterious disappearances of several of their schoolmates and the volatile behaviour of their alcoholic father. However, when Finney becomes the sixth victim of ‘The Grabber’ (Ethan Hawke), a disconnected phone in his basement prison offers hope as ‘The Grabber’s’ past victims come back from the dead to guide him.
Like Derrickson’s breakthrough picture, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Black Phone is bathed in conventional horror tropes that, while predictable, it handles expertly to build tension and threat. Here, the dramatic detail, performances, and 1970s period style enable The Black Phone to rise above the standard serial-killer flick by creating a genuinely scary, supernatural-inspired game of cat and mouse between a boy, a killer, and the spirits of his victims.
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