Contains spoilers for The Black Phone (2021)

“Hello Finney. Did you think our story was over?”, the Grabber (played by the horror icon Ethan Hawke) taunts down a snow-covered payphone in Black Phone 2, the long-awaited sequel to the popular 2021 horror. The story picks up 4 years after Finney’s (Mason Thames) capture in the Grabber’s basement, shifting its focus to the ongoing psychological effects he encounters, following a recurrence of his sister Gwen’s (Madeline McGraw) visions of 3 boys in danger at a winter camp in the 1950s. The sequel gives Gwen her space in the limelight, setting her against the Grabber in the world of her clairvoyant psyche.

The cinematography of Black Phone 2 is oddly aesthetically pleasing for a horror film, using the same trippy camera shots as its predecessor to bring the voices of the black phone eerily to life, while incorporating granular noise into dream sequences to recreate the feeling of an old VHS tape. In terms of its soundtrack, it successfully combines the edgy lyrics of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (a choice contemporary to the film’s 1982 setting, that makes sense earlier in the plot as Gwen mentions going to a Duran Duran concert with her love interest Ernesto (Miguel Mora), highlighting her human side) with the staccato pieces classic of horror movies. 

The performances are strong throughout, with Ethan Hawke’s the Grabber, Mason Thames’ Finney, and Madeline McGraw’s Gwen being particular standouts through their expert development of character from the first movie – these are not the same characters we met before, they are embittered, they are dangerous, and they know no bounds. Throughout the film there are themes of grief, guilt, and redemption – whether this be shown by the Grabber over the fate of his brother in Black Phone, Finney and Gwen’s dad (Jeremy Davis) for his treatment of his kids whilst in the throes of alcoholism, following the loss of his wife or a variety of other characters – that tie beautifully into Gwen’s clairvoyance. She has the ability to encounter people’s guilt and grief and deconstruct it, highlighting that it is those who learn to face their demons and let them go, opposed to numbing themselves to them, who can truly thrive. It is really refreshing to encounter a horror sequel that can look fear in the face and accept the fact that it could have long-term psychological consequences, the idea that ‘okay, I just encountered something messed up, now I feel messed up, and that’s okay’.

Black Phone 2, whilst harbouring similarities to its predecessor, feels like a far more human film that uses the horror framework established to tell its own story. It contains the same claustrophobic feeling established through Black Phone’s basement setting, however utilises its own set of emotional constrictions to establish this same effect, allowing for a more nuanced take on a sound horror concept. At times certain parts felt slightly hard to follow (mostly the Grabber’s existence in the film after his ‘death’ in Black Phone, and his somewhat lacking motives for how he came to do what he does), but the film’s explanations ultimately fit the horror movie logic and physics of the franchise, and as long as one doesn’t question it too much, it does not take away from the story. I am a firm believer that sequels, particularly in horror, pale in comparison to their original stories. However, I feel this may be an exception. It was visually more interesting, had a more nuanced and emotive plot, and more natural character work that paired with exceptional acting made for a very entertaining watch. It is my belief that Black Phone walked so Black Phone 2 could run, and I am very glad it did.

Rating 3.5/5 

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