Since first seeing the trailer in October of last year, Scott Derrickson’s latest film, The Black Phone (2022), has been one of my most anticipated films this year. Initially slated to be theatrically released at the beginning of 2022, The Black Phone was delayed numerous times until finally being released this summer. Although unusual for a horror film to be released in a summer month, The Black Phone provides an excellent viewing experience as an alternative to the typical popcorn summer blockbusters that dominate the screen during the warmest months of the year. While The Black Phone, based on a short story by Joe Hill, was marketed as being a horror film, the film is more of a suspenseful thriller, as its narrative involves a sinister child kidnapper called The Grabber (played by Ethan Hawke) in a small, sleepy suburban town of North Denver in 1978. Being a Blumhouse-produced film, most Blumhouse films lately have either been a hit or miss, but The Black Phone is a definitive hit! Under Derrickson’s superb direction and craftsmanship, The Black Phone features stellar cinematography, set, and costume design that perfectly recreates the setting of 1978, an eerie and paranoid atmosphere with a strong sense of foreboding, and fantastic performances by Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw. The Black Phone is a thrilling cinematic experience that is tense, unsettling, and highly entertaining. The Black Phone is an old-fashioned horror thriller at its finest!
Based on the trailer, I knew that The Black Phone was going to be a film I would greatly enjoy. The Black Phone combines two film characteristics I find appealing, a setting that takes place in the past and the thriller genre. While The Black Phone has many admirable qualities, the strength is in its creepy, ominous, and gritty atmosphere. Under Scott Derrickson’s meticulous direction and utilizing the backdrop of the rise of missing children in the late 1970s, a sense of paranoia and despair dominates not only the North Denver location of the film but also the different characters’ lives. The film’s incredible intro, featuring handheld amateur 8mm-style film footage of the North Denver town, as well as clippings and posters of missing children, sets the tone for the film we are about to see and the world we are about to enter. Even though the town and its residents are on edge with the thought of a madman running around the town snatching children, the residents and especially the children, continue to live their lives. Continuing to live on with their lives is all they can do, as the residents do not appear to have much else going on. The town is a blue-collar town as is evident by the average ranch homes that line up the streets, block after block, and the gruff and tough behavior some of the residents display, such as Terrence (played by Jeremy Davies), the father of Finney (played by Mason Thames), and Gwen (played by Madeleine McGraw). As his work uniform suggests, Terrence works at a nuclear power plant. While attempting to eat his breakfast and read the morning newspaper, the front page of the newspaper Terrence reads indicates that the town may have some economic distress due to an issue with pensions. The tidbit of information presented in regards to the economic plight some residents may be experiencing accentuates the fear and desperation the town is experiencing. While most films set in the 1970s feature bright and vibrant colors and visual aesthetics, the cinematography in The Black Phone is flat, dark, and naturalistic. The natural look, especially with the incorporation of more home footage style shots scattered throughout, adds a certain level of realism and makes the film feel as if it was made during the 1970s. The technical aspects featured in The Black Phone are its best attributes and are exquisitely crafted by Derrickson and his crew. Not only is the cinematography superb, but also the grim and worn-out set design, authentic-looking costume design, and the menacing synth-sounding score by Mark Korven. What could have been a simple and run-of-the-mill thriller is heightened with all of those technical features, and the result is a genuinely scary, artistically made, spine-tingling film!
The plot of The Black Phone is simple, but the absence of a backstory in regards to The Grabber and his motives, Gwen’s psychic abilities, and the functionality of the black phone that the film is named after makes the mysterious narrative’s execution intriguing and highly engaging. The reasons why The Grabber kidnaps children are unknown. We can only assume that he is a lunatic killer who pretends to be a magician to lure children into his van and then later holds captive, tortures, and kills them in his basement. At one point in the film, The Grabber reveals to Finney that he spent time in the same basement in which Finney and other missing children are held captive. Perhaps The Grabber was abused as a child, and that traumatic experience caused him to become the way he is. His childhood and innocence were robbed from him and he gets satisfaction by doing the same to others. The Grabber attempts to play sadistic mind games with Finney but fails as Finney outsmarts him. The black phone that hangs from a wall in the basement rings, even though it is disconnected from a phone jack. Children captured and killed by The Grabber call Finney and guide him by telling him how to avoid playing The Grabber’s mind games and how he can escape from the basement. No explanation is given of how the phone can work, even though it is disconnected, nor how Finney hears and sees the other children The Grabber captured and killed. Even though that added layer of supernatural phenomena does not have an explanation, it keeps the audience engaged as they try to determine how Finney can speak to the children on the phone and how he will escape The Grabber. Derrickson entrusts the audience to come up with their own ideas and interpretations. Another open interpretation element is Gwen’s psychic abilities. Throughout the film, Gwen is capable of seeing visions of future events in her dreams. While initially skeptical, the police eventually utilize Gwen’s assistance in finding Finney and the location of The Grabber’s whereabouts. How Gwen can see visions of future events is unclear, other than perhaps having some divine intervention. We know that Gwen’s mother had the same ability but killed herself. Gwen’s father is adamant that she does not have the same abilities as her mother and severely punishes her when she speaks to the police about her visions. Her father may be preventing Gwen from meeting the same fate as her mother but Gwen’s reluctance to abandon her psychic abilities ultimately saves Finney and ends The Grabber’s reign of terror. The brother and sister relationship shared by Finney and Gwen was one of my favorite aspects of The Black Phone. The bond they shared felt genuine and wholesome, especially with having an abusive father. It is rare to see a brother and sister dynamic such as the one seen in this film where both siblings care and watch for one another. Both performances by Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are outstanding and it would not be a surprise if they both end up having a solid future in cinema!
Featuring creatively stylized cinematography, perfectly detailed set and costume designs that capture the 1970s era, unsettling audio and a creepy synth score, an ambiance of dread and hopelessness, as well as phenomenal performances by Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw, The Black Phone is destined to be a horror and thriller classic! In an age of copy and paste reboots and remakes, as well as elevated horror films, it is refreshing to see a film that is solidly crafted and genuinely scary. While I have not seen most of Scott Derrickson’s films, after seeing The Black Phone, I find it essential to view his other work! Who knows what other goodies might be lurking within his filmography. The wait for The Black Phone was well worth it, and I cannot wait to see it again! What did you guys think of The Black Phone? What did you guys think of The Grabber character? What is your favorite Ethan Hawke film? What is your favorite Scott Derrickson film?
Reel/Musings 