Black Phone review (spoiler free)

The Black Phone is the film adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story by the same name. The film takes place in Denver in 1978 and follows Finny (Mason Thames), a boy who is about 12 who suffers abuse both at home by his alcoholic father and at school by bullies. Simultaneously, a child abductor dubbed The Grabber, (Ethan Hawke) is terrorizing Finny and his sister Gwen’s neighborhood. The story takes place after multiple boys have already gone missing

A bulk of the story follows Finny trying to escape The Grabber with help from a mysterious and supernatural (you guessed it) black phone. Finny’s younger sister, played by Madeleine McGraw, is spunky and confident and is linked to The Grabber and helps in her brother’s escape.

The plot has more thrills than chills. It’s a nice combination of suspense-thriller with dashes of the supernatural. The supernatural is grounded enough in reality that the suspense that the film creates feels real keeping the stakes high. At no point does the film become the magical/fantasy type, allowing it to remain a plausible horror-crime thriller.

Ethan Hawke is super creepy and unsettling as The Grabber. Hawke plays a bizarre and unhinged creep who is most similar to what serial killers of the late 70s were actually like. Serial killers weren’t the charming Machiavelli types as crime sensationalist are prone to suggest Instead, they were socially inept creeps who took advantage of people (and children’s) vulnerabilities and naivete.

Ted Bundy specifically, as well as others, also benefited from lack of DNA and de-centralized information. They were not the brilliant masterminds as some lead you to believe. The Grabber appears to be influenced by Ted Bundy. He targets a demographic (adolescent boys) who are both vulnerable and naïve.

Madeleine McGraw is a showstopper as Gwen. She’s funny and more self-assured than her older brother. She has a lot of spunk and has some of the film’s most memorable moments. She’s a really good young actress who I hope that we can see more of in the future.

The film isn’t gory at all as there’s little blood throughout. Considering that the film deals with child murder, this is probably a relief to many. The film is very much horror but doesn’t rely on traditional scares. Instead, the film focuses on building tension and dread. Finny is playing a game of chicken with The Grabber for his life. Time is of the essence for Finny and the viewer knows that it will soon run out for him. The film focuses on this race against the clock to build suspense over conventional terror.

My biggest criticism of the film is the ending. The ending felt like the story had walked itself into a corner and needed a ribbon tying ending to escape. It felt inorganic. Gwen’s role in the end felt contrived. Overall, this is a rock solid film that continues a strong year for horror films.

The story is strong and doesn’t waste time with a backstory and instead gets shit rocking from the jump. The three leads give strong performances, with Hawke doing a great job as a villain and Miss Madeleine McGraw showing off great humor, soul, and potential as a young actress. Lastly, the grainy video recording shots a la Sinister were a sexy touch that made the film look like a real recording of a crime scene. That really reeled me in.

If you’re looking for thriller this summer, then The Black Phone will answer your call.

-------7.3/10