Black Phone 2 Spoiler Movie Review

Scott Derrieckson builds upon stellar first film with sequel that is matches in quality.

Four years after escaping The Grabber, Finney Blake is struggling with his life after captivity. When his sister Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp, the siblings become determined to solve the mystery and confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine. Derrickson masterfully builds upon the first film expanding on the supernatural channeling elements of Nightmare on Elam Street and Friday the 13^th put putting it in the snow to isolate the characters to up the tension.

Scott Derrickson does a fantastic job directing this film the way he is able expand on the supernatural with Gwen’s abilities that makes sense is impressive we have seen so many sequels fail to expand on the first film doing things that make the first film worse, but Derrickson never falls into that trap his choice of using 8 millimeter to indicate when we are in the dream world is brilliant it gives it a distinct look that ups the tension and doesn’t rip off Nightmare on Elam Street. The way he continues the journey of the siblings Finney and Gwen in this film is awesome I love their dynamic so much you believe they are brother and sister the way they give each other shit but also look out for one another is endearing for me as a viewer so when the grabber is attacking them, I want to see then survive. Derrickson’s pacing of the film is beautifully done never dragged for me once and the final set piece was so clever in how he set it up and how it progressed with Gwen trying to get the dead boys bodies with Finney and the consolers fighting off the grabber climaxing with Finney and Gwen killing him and  I was hooked into the mystery of the grabber from moment one how he was connected to Finney and Gwen’s Mother was great it made me want them to defeat him even more which a lot of other films have tried to do but failed.

The cast in the film is stellar Starting with Mason Thames as Finney he is fantastic continuing Finney’s journey you can tell from the beginning he is scared from the events of the 1^st film like his father doesn’t want to talk about it, but smoke weed to try and forget about it. His care for his sister makes him lovable to you as viewer and love when Gwen Confronts him about his desire to run from his trauma he lets loose talking about how it’s all he ever thinks about that he can’t get it out of his head how scared he was its so believable, heartbreaking, and honest. Madeline McGraw as Gwen is just as good exploring the ability her mother had and when she sees the grabber killed her mother because she was on to him her reaction is heartbreaking and her learning to use her power in the dream world to fight back against the grabber is unique which is why is disagree with some people who say this film is just derivative of A Nightmare on Elam Street that is different from that film. Ethan Hawk as the grabber is great he brings that childish spitefulness that he thinks he is justified in going after Finney for killing him even though he is a serial killer I love how Hawk moves as this killer it is so creepy in how he savors wanting Finney to suffer but it’s not like Robbert England as Freddy Krugger who loved to have one liners with his victims the grabber doesn’t do that he’s like child in a mans body who thinks he is right when to everyone else clearly isn’t.

Final thoughts is I loved this film I just can’t agree with people who say it ripped off A Nightmare on Elam Street like how the consolers on in on the plan to defeat him one they see Gwen in the room floating in the air is different but respect your opinion if you felt that I can’t agree Scott Derrickson in my opinion knocked it out of the park you can tell how passionate he was about this film and horror has been a saving grace this year with horror making up half of the films I loved this year I will give this film 4 and a half out of 5.