Black Phone was directed by Scott Derrickson and is another Blumhouse Productions movie. This is Scott Derrickson's first movie after leaving Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He really didn't fit in with the Marvel brand, horror is his genre and he did an excellent job with this movie.
The premise of the movie is rather simple, but I think you should avoid the trailer and the spoilers as much as possible because it will ruin the experience for you. The trailer only spoilers one interesting aspect of this movie, but I watched the movie with a friend who didn't see the trailer and he was super surprised and impressed so maybe you should also skip the trailer. It doesn't spoiler the super surprising ending, but horror movies are all about the journey.
So yeah, during the 70s in a small suburban town, there is a man who kidnaps teenage and young boys. The media calls him the grabber and he is played by Ethan Hawke. Hawke usually plays the good guys so it was unusual to see him in this role. He has a devil mask on which expressed emotions, but completely hides his face. His latest victim is Finney. We get to know Finney before he gets kidnaped. We know he is bullied at school and that his father is an abusive alcoholic, which all makes him a really tough person. Not the usual timid victim. He gets locked in a basement which is soundproof with no windows in reach. The only things that are in this basement are a mattress and a phone that doesn't work. That's all Finney has to help him survive.
This is a really well made movie. We get to spend time with Finney and his family before he gets kidnapped to help us build an emotional connection to him. We get to see his abusive father and his loving sister. This movie focuses on the victim. Unlike so many other movies that are fascinated by the criminal and what makes him tick.
The cast is superb. Mason Thames plays Finney and Madeleine McGraw plays his sister Gwen. They are both excellent new discoveries and they are killing it in this movie. They do a fantastic job and we all know how hard it is to find good child actors, even if they are teenagers. Obviously, Ethan Hawke is brilliant. Even if we don't see his face, his acting, his body language, his eyes, it is all just super creepy and disturbing.
Despite knowing some major spoilers of this movie, I was really surprised by some of the developments. And yes, it is a horror movie more than a thriller or a crime movie. And it is super well made. It keeps you on the edge of you seat at all times. If you didn't watch it and you into horror movies than I highly recommend that you check it out. Even if you don't like horror movies there is a chance you might enjoy it for the physiological and crime aspects of the movie. All in all, I really recommend this movie.
Please follow me and upvote my posts to help yourself stay up to date with everything that is nerdy and awesome.
Sharing will also be most appreciated.
See you in my next post.