Streaming Service: Peacock
Movie Name/Year: The Black Phone (2022)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 1h 43min
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Universal Pictures, Blumhouse
Productions, Crooked Highway, Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures Home
Entertainment, B&H Film Distribution, Cinemundo, Tulip Entertainment, United
International Pictures (UIP), Universal Pictures Argentina, Universal Pictures
Home Entertainment (UPHE), Universal Pictures International (UPI)
Director: Scott Derrickson
Writer: Joe Hill, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Actors: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies,
E. Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal, James Ransone, Miguel Cazarez Mora, Tristan
Pravong, Jacob Moran, Brady Hepner, Banks Repeta
Blurb from IMDb: 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.
Selina’s Point of View:
Ethan Hawke’s (
Before
Sunrise, Boyhood, The Northman) decision to start taking on villain roles
may very well be the smartest decision I’ve ever seen anyone make for their
career.
Now, that’s not
saying anything bad about the rest of his career. His movies have
overwhelmingly high ratings. Even the ones disliked by critics tend to do
decently with audiences. One could argue, and I often do, that audience ratings
are the ones that matter most anyway. The thing is, he’s done it all by now –
except villainy.
Branching out was
a respectable move. When I saw him in
Moon Knight (2022-), I thought he played
the antagonist well, but I was still a little curious about how he would do the
kind of obvious villain that he plays in
The Black Phone. Being the
antagonist is still kind of new for him.
All it took was one
scene, and I knew to expect something incredible.
The villain in
The
Black Phone, played by Hawke, is the creepiest villain I’ve ever seen. He
utilizes his voice and mannerisms in a way that portrays The Grabber as almost
otherworldly. Even with the supernatural elements in the film, though, the
antagonist comes across as human – just completely untouchable.
I want so much more
of this kind of thing.
The story is
based on a book by Joe Hill (
Horns, NOS4A2, Locke & Key), and the
more of his stuff I come across the more I find that I generally prefer his
stories to his father’s. I know that’s a bit of a hot take, but Hill can write
a wonderful ending. That’s a known weak spot of Stephen King’s (
The Stand, It,
Carrie).
Everything about
The
Black Phone was what I needed it to be. Even with a few conversations in
the beginning feeling a little manufactured. The rest of it was so spectacular
that I wouldn’t have remembered my issues from the beginning if I hadn’t made
note of them. I got actual goosebumps at times. It’s score on Rotten Tomatoes,
for both critics and audiences, is in the 80s and I think that’s too low.
The
Black Phone
is the kind of flick that I will wind up watching repeatedly until I have it
memorized. In fact, I may watch it a second time today, just so I can see it
again without having to take notes.
If you haven’t
seen
The Black Phone yet, it’s streaming exclusively on Peacock.
Cat’s Point of View:
The movies this
week, so far, have been doing their best to stomp on all of my “mom feels.”
They’ve given me the tingles in the small hairs at the base of my neck and the
sick feeling of dread in my gut as my instincts scream at me about what’s
happening on-screen. To say that
The Black Phone was a creepily
successful horror movie feels like a huge understatement.
I’m not sure that
it would be any surprise, however, given that this was an adaptation of a short
story of the same title, penned by Joe Hill. I could tout his horror pedigree,
but setting genetics and the like aside, he is gifted in his own right. When
paired with writer and director Scott Derrickson (
The Exorcism of Emily
Rose, Sinister, Deliver Us from Evil), who is said to have used this film
to evoke the environment of fear that plagued his own childhood, magical things
happen. It was terrifying and suspense-inducing, but magical all the same.
The blend of very
real elements such as The Grabber, the titular Black Phone, and supernatural
elements created a viscerally horrifying experience.
Part of that
success also must be attributed to the cast. Everyone involved did a great job
with their roles, though the primary trio portraying Finney, Gwen, and The
Grabber really shone. Mason Thames (
For All Mankind, Evel, Walker) and
Madeleine McGraw (
Toy Story 4, The Mandela Effect, Secrets of Sulphur
Springs) had great chemistry together as siblings. They brought the
audience along with them on the painful ride of their day-to-day trauma.
It’s been said
that Ethan Hawke doesn’t particularly enjoy being in horror movies or playing
villains
. The Black Phone, of course, finds him doing exactly that. He
was the perfect man behind the mask here. His body language and tone sold the
set of revolving creepy face-coverings so well, that I could almost envision
the mask’s mouths moving when he spoke. (Of course, it didn’t.)
Speaking of The
Grabber’s masks with the varying emotions featured on them; they were designed
by none other than master practical effects artist Tom Savini (
Machete
Kills, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, NOS4A2). He delivered those
chilling faces straight from his imagination to my nightmares.
The
Black Phone
effortlessly captured and brought to life the fear behind parental and teacher
warnings for kids to not talk to strangers, especially ones with vans. I
thoroughly enjoyed this tense and terrifying experience of that nightmare and
wouldn’t hesitate to inflict it on others via recommendation.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 88%
Metascore – 65%
Metacritic User Score – 7.0
IMDB Score –7.0/10
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5
Movie Trailer:
