‘Black Phone 2’ Awakens the Ghost of Ethan Hawke’s Deranged Killer for Stylishly Eerie Sequel

Alci Rengifo

When “The Black Phone” premiered in 2022 and became a hit for Blumhouse Productions, studio executives no doubt wanted a sequel, but the story posed a classic dilemma. Its memorable villain, played with unique menace by Ethan Hawke, was killed at the end. Horror fans know this means little and anyone can come back. For “Black Phone 2,” director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill have made the crafty choice of tapping deeper into the story’s supernatural elements. The Grabber (Hawke) can’t return, but his ghost can certainly make an appearance. Instead of repeating the first film’s premise, this sequel works because it expands the story while feeling new. Derrickson is an expert at jump scares and ramps up the moodiness and gore. As with its predecessor, atmosphere helps gloss over some of the script’s rougher edges.

It is 1982, a few years after the events of “The Black Phone.” Finney (Mason Thames), the Grabber’s last kidnapping victim, who managed to escape and kill the psychopath, is now in high school. So is his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who still receives cryptic visions in her dreams. Clearly traumatized, Finney channels it all through bloody schoolyard fights, listening to dark New Wave bands and smoking marijuana. Out of order phones have a tendency of ringing around him, signaling that spirits from the beyond are still trying to reach him, as in those terrifying moments when he was trapped in the Grabber’s basement. Gwen’s dreams have been ratcheting up in their intensity, filled with hazy images of a cabin in a snow-covered forest, mutilated children and the voice of her deceased mother. Clues from these dreams lead Gwen and Finney to Alpine Lake, a winter camp where their mother was a counselor in the 1950s. As soon as they arrive, a phone rings for Finney and he realizes the evil spirit of the Grabber is here for revenge.

The original “Black Phone” was based on an unsettling short story by Joe Hill, son of horror maestro Stephen King. This sequel was clearly spun out of the need to follow up a hit, though Hill reportedly contributed to its basic concept. In its own way, it borrows from past slasher classics like “Friday the 13th” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Accursed sleepaway camps and dreams coming true as nightmares are regular fodder for this genre. Derrickson and cinematographer Par M. Ekberg choose to shoot the landscape of Alpine Lake as a lonely, wintry locale reminiscent of “The X-Files: I Want to Believe.” They also use a visual touch from “The Black Phone” and Derrickson’s other popular hit, “Sinister,” of switching to a grainy home movie look for certain moments. The technique works to disturbing effect for Gwen’s dreams, giving them the authentic sensation of hazy, terrifying nightmares. The music by Atticus Derrickson has an electronic retro feel that recalls scores from the ‘80s and also the more recent film work of Trent Reznor. 

“Black Phone 2” is more of a visceral experience than its predecessor, which depended on the feeling of entrapment with a lunatic. Hawke’s performance, always behind a creepy, demonic mask, took on a chilling childlike tone of someone who’s eternally emotionally stunted. The sequel is a full on confrontation in other realms. It could be seen as a metaphor for the ways trauma burrows into someone’s psyche. What Finney went through affected everyone in his life, including Gwen, who would beg Jesus for signs and clues to his whereabouts. Now, she’s begging him to make her dreams stop, since the Grabber is invading them with past victims who were burned, cut in half and thrown into the camp’s frozen lake. She becomes the lead this time around, which makes sense considering in the first film Gwen was more of a witness. Now it’s her turn to confront the evil that Finney endured. Derrickson throws in nods at Wes Craven and Sam Raimi with some excellent moments involving standoffs with flaming ovens or possessed bodies in levitation. We only get slight comic relief from some teen humor and Gwen’s standoff with the camp’s overly conservative Christian owners. 

In many ways Blumhouse has polished the B-movie genre, at times releasing truly respectable material and a few duds. “Black Phone 2” is rich in ambiance and scares yet still has some curious script flaws. The questions of logic involving Gwen’s dreams or how the Grabber can even access them, since according to him he’s been in hell, shouldn’t matter much. Less convincing are side characters and storylines that feel tagged on just because they are expected in a haunted campsite movie. Ernesto (Miguel Mora), a classmate of Gwen’s with a serious crush on her, comes along to the camp because he would look lame if he didn’t. He is the brother of Robin, one of Finney’s friends who was killed by the Grabber in the first movie. This story angle is surprisingly ignored as the plot intensifies. Ernesto instead becomes a funny token Mexican character gifting Gwen a deck of loteria from his abuelita and telling her it would be hot if instead of saying “Jesus” she would say “Jesús.” Demian Bichir is good as the camp’s supervisor, but serves little purpose beyond confirming or revealing shocking information from the past. Even less consequential is the supervisor’s niece, Mustang (Arianna Rivas). 

Such dents don’t keep this from being a gripping time, even if it runs a bit too long at nearly 2 hours. The rest of the cast give strong performances and Hawke again gets under your skin without ever showing his face. As with “Sinister,” Derrickson and Hawke work well together in not only crafting good ways to scare an audience, but for a style that feels genuinely dreamlike. Like “Weapons,” from earlier this year, they use the medium of film to create an environment that goes beyond the basic plot points. Images remain in the memory more strongly than some of the hasty revelations (not surprisingly an old picture book is used for a big twist). By the end credits the Grabber has been sent somewhere even more difficult to come back from. If this is a success there will no doubt be other ways to pull off another resurrection. But this team is so good, next time we hope they aim for something new to get the pulse racing.

“Black Phone 2” releases Oct. 17 in theaters nationwide.