By John Corrado
Ethan Hawke returns as The Grabber in Black Phone 2, director Scott Derrickson’s followup to his 2021 film The Black Phone. This poses a unique challenge for the horror sequel, seeing as Hawke’s mask-wearing, child-napping serial killer was already killed in the first film. But, as we know from this genre, there are ways around that.
This sequel is set in 1982, four years after the first movie, when young victim Finney Blake (Mason Thames) escaped from The Grabber’s basement by killing his captor. The 17-year-old Finney is now struggling with being the serial killer’s only survivor, and using marijuana to dull the pain.
Teenaged actor Thames, who also proved himself to be a box office draw this year in Regretting You and the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake, helps ground the film with his dramatic portrayal of a kid experiencing PTSD and survivor’s guilt. But, if Finney is still central to this story, Derrickson also sets this sequel apart by largely shifting the focus to his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who begins to receive frightening phone calls and have nightmare visions of little boys trapped under a frozen lake.
This leads her to Alpine Lake, a Christian winter youth camp run by Armando (Demián Bichir). Finney, Gwen, and classmate Ernesto (Miguel Mora) get themselves hired as camp counsellors to investigate these mysterious events that happened there, which have connections to their own past. Much of the film takes place at this camp in the middle of a snowstorm, which adds an eery atmosphere to this sequel.
Where as the first movie was a gritty little missing kid thriller largely confined to a grimy suburban basement, this is a much different film. The screenplay, co-written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, goes a lot deeper into the mythology behind this world, expanding the scope of it and venturing more into the spiritual realm. The Grabber is brought back as a supernatural entity, still communicating with Finney through pay phones from beyond the grave.
It’s an intriguing enough concept that provides a clever way for this horror sequel to bring back the main villain who was already killed by our hero, with Derrickson entering into Nightmare on Elm Street territory; he’s essentially turning The Grabber into Freddy Krueger. But, instead of just feeling like a gimmick to craft a sequel to a box office hit (though it is surely also that), this allows Derrickson to go deeper into religious allegory. Derrickson, a practising Christian, weaves a good deal of theology into this film, with its themes of the ultimate battle between good and evil, as The Grabber emerges from a frozen hell inspired by Dante’s Inferno.
The physicality of Hawke’s performance, despite being buried under a creepy mask and prosthetic makeup, remains unsettling. There are no attempts to turn him into a misunderstood villain, but rather doubling down on him being a figure of pure evil. The film can feel a little too drawn out at nearly two hours, and it’s not nearly as suspenseful as the first one. The dialogue occasionally veers into offering too much exposition. But Derrickson maintains a creepy, unnerving, nightmarish tone throughout, including some truly grisly and disturbing images of former child victims.
The wintry cinematography by Pär M. Ekberg effectively uses the frozen lake as a backdrop for key sequences, captured in widescreen. The stylistic choice to shoot the dream sequences and flashbacks on Super 8 film (a recognizable element that Derrickson has used throughout his filmography), gives these scenes the appearance of cursed home movie footage from the era.
If Black Phone 2 exists as a studio horror sequel, the filmmaking feels confident and even surprisingly thoughtful throughout. It’s topped off with an electronic 1980s synth score by the director’s own son, Atticus Derrickson, that matches the time period and adds to the creepy tone of the film.
Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)
Bonus Features (4K Ultra HD):
The 4K disc includes a decent selection of bonus features. A regular Blu-ray is also included in the package, which ships with a matte slipcover.
• Deleted Scenes (Play All – 7 minutes, 47 seconds): A handful of cut scenes that provide some more moments of exposition.
- Gwen and Ernesto Talk in the Library (1 minute, 15 seconds)
- Mustang Talks to Group (54 seconds)
- Mando Talks About the Camp Closing (1 minute, 19 seconds)
- Mustang and Gwen Talk in the Chapel (1 minute, 4 seconds)
- Ernesto and Gwen Kiss (1 minute, 22 seconds)
- Gwen Prays (1 minute, 24 seconds)
- Ken and Barb Ask Gwen and Finn to Come Back (29 seconds)
• Dialed In: The Cast of Black Phone 2 (10 minutes, 33 seconds): The cast members discuss reprising their roles, and the evolution of their characters since the first movie.
• A Story Carved in Ice (10 minutes, 45 seconds): Looks at figuring out how to bring the character of The Grabber back for a sequel, and how they crafted some of the special effects, prosthetics, and gore seen in the film
• Frozen in Time (10 minutes, 12 seconds): Looks at the icy winter aesthetic of the film, including shooting near Huntsville, Ontario.
• Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer/Producer Scott Derickson
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