The Black Phone Movie Review

The Black Phone (2021)

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Written by: Joe Hill (based on the short story 'The Black Phone' by), Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (screenplay by)
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone
Rated: R
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Plot
After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims.

Verdict
Certainly better than the average horror movie, this is tense and bleak. This never tries to explain too much, and it's rare to see horror and coming of age joined, but this does a capable job. The setting certainly helps the narrative while also making the abduction worse in context. This is slower paced and the masks worn by the antagonist certainly make his appearance chilling, but this feels like it needs something else.
It depends.

Review
Set in the '70s, this starts with a Little League game and kids riding bikes. It's very wholesome, but you know what's coming. The idyllic setting is shorter than expected when we see a menacing black van.

The time period with kids running around town unaccompanied, certainly seems more believe than if this was present day. Back then the world seemed safer because the ills of society weren't broadcast twenty-four-seven.

Madeleien McGraw, Mason Thames play Gwen, Finney

Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleien McGraw) are siblings with an single parent who happens to be an abusive father. Finney is hesitant to stand up to his father. This plays into the final act. Gwen has visions of the abductor, and that only grows stronger throughout the movie. This doesn't delve into her ability, other than revealing her late mother also had visions. While the cops are interested in her story, you'd think they'd be much more concerned.

This is certainly focused, and it was obvious that Finney would get abducted being the main character. It's unclear what this abductor, known as "the grabber" wants. Ethan Hawke does such a great job in part because you could easily miss he's even in the movie wearing a mask nearly the entire time. I really wanted a little more on his character. How he got here, why he does this. Knowing so little does make him menacing. He plays a game with his captives, where he wants to punish them. As you may expect, that never ends well. The only way for Finney to not lose is to not play.

Ethan Hawke plays the grabber

Finney's insight is due to a disabled phone that yet still rings in his cell. It's one thing to have a supernatural sister, but the supernatural phone stretches just a bit. I get why both are necessary to the plot, but I feel like there needs to be one more link or something to ground them. The movie never explains how all these things work, but I'd guess that's for the best. Movies rarely are able to manage such an explanation well. It's a smart decision to avoid it altogether.

The movie is tense, as the bulk of it involves Finney locked in a cell. We don't know if he'll escape, and that certainly seems unlikely. Also an unlikely connection is the abductor's brother. It's quite the coincidence, that is then doubled. I do like how this ends with Finney getting a breakthrough moment. This movie has a great focus and mood, but the supernatural and unlikely stretch the plot just a bit too much.