Director: Scott Derrickson
Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 103 minutes
The Black Phone (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
It has only been a few days since we featured Nope, Jordan Peele’s latest horror creation. We found the atmospheric film very enjoyable to watch, and we loved the twists and turns of the story along the way. Now, we are taking a look at a more traditional horror experience with The Black Phone, which revolves around a murderous kidnapper. The twist here is a telephone that connects to the other side, which may become the key to surviving. This was yet another movie we were pleasantly surprised by.
The Black Phone revolves around a small town in the late ’70s where kids have started to go missing. The culprit is currently being called The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and so far none of his kidnappees have turned up again. Finney (Mason Thames) is a boy who is struggling on a day-to-day basis as he is getting bullied at school and he also has an abusive father. Nonetheless, he tries to make the best out of it with his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). When Finney encounters The Grabber himself, he is drugged and kidnapped. Waking up in a strange cellar, with The Grabber clearly toying with him, he’ll have to try and escape. On the wall is a black phone, which has been disconnected. When Finney starts getting phone calls from The Grabber’s deceased victims, things get truly spooky. Finney will have to follow the guidance of the dead in order to escape. At the same time, Gwen has dreamlike visions, and she believes she can use her dreams to find Finney.
In terms of pacing and flow, the movie is pretty much perfect. The film has a reasonably lengthy introduction to make sure you somewhat care about the main character(s) and after that, the scary parts start oozing in. The Black Phone pretty much evolves as you’d expect it to, where the titular phone brings Finney in contact with The Grabber’s previous victims. As a whole, the movie doesn’t hold too many surprises, but there are a few nice twists along the way. The overall presentation is what makes this movie quite captivating.
The acting performances in The Black Phone are phenomenal. We have to give credit where credit is due, and the younger cast members absolutely nailed their roles. Mason Thames does a formidable job bringing Finney to life, and he made sure his character properly evolved throughout the film. Madeleine McGraw, however, performs her role on the next level. She might only be 14 years old, but she shows emotions that veteran actors haven’t even mastered yet. We can see her do amazing things in the future. Ethan Hawke also does a great job bringing the villain to life, and he is equal parts crazy as he is scary. Supporting cast members also performed their roles nicely.
When buying a Blu-ray copy of the movie, you’ll get quite a few extras to view. Most of these are behind-the-scenes footage of how the movie was created. We did enjoy these insights, as it’s interesting to see how certain aspects came to life. Other than that, you’ll also be treated to a short film, Shadowprowler, which also adds a bit of value to the physical copy. All in all, we were very pleased with the bonus content.
Conclusion
The Black Phone surprised us, as we dived in expecting a fairly generic movie. We ended up sitting on the edge of our seats as the movie progressed, even though the conclusion ended up being a bit predictable. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a good horror film, which is not overly brutal, then this one will certainly provide you with an entertaining evening.
The Black Phone (Blu-ray) - Movie Review,
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