I am not a huge fan of horror movies because many of the characters lack common sense. I also don’t enjoy jump scares or an unnecessary amount of gore. I really only watch a horror movie or two in honor of spooky season.
This year, I decided on “The Black Phone” (2021) since the sequel just came out. In all honesty, I was expecting the average horror movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. The characters were not the classic run-towards-danger types. There were no jump scares. The creators of this movie weaponized suspense and deception in a way I’ve seen in only a few movies. This film didn’t put me to bed with nightmares, but I still felt the fear and helplessness of the characters. This film is great for those who aren’t fans of gory horror films that are only meant for cheap scares.
Warning: spoilers ahead
The show starts with multiple kids getting kidnapped by a creatively named man, The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), in 1978. A brother and sister named Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) are the main characters of this movie. They are both intelligent and resilient, which is seen throughout the movie. Gwen has weirdly prophetic dreams like her late mother, which makes her father act harshly towards her. Finney eventually gets kidnapped by The Grabber.
The suspense and action that made me enjoy this movie begin after he’s kidnapped.
Finney is trapped in The Grabber’s basement when the broken black phone on the wall rings. Finney picks it up, and it’s the ghost of one of the previously missing kids. As the story goes on, the missing kids each share how they tried to get out. Meanwhile, Gwen keeps having vague dreams hinting at where her brother’s been taken to. Eventually, the last call comes, and Finney escapes to his sister.
In this film, Finney is the only survivor of The Grabber, but the previous victims weren’t killed off just to kill them. There was a purpose to their deaths. I truly hope Finney survives the sequel.
End of spoilers
I quite enjoyed how the previous victims played an unsettling part in the larger story, rather than just being a setup. I also liked that each character had a personality not based on a stereotype. They weren’t fully fleshed out, but they had enough to show the unique ways they responded to the events of the movie. The unfortunate downside to this movie is that we don’t get much of a backstory on many of the characters, which is stereotypical of horror movies. Overall, I quite enjoyed this movie.