Four years on from his ordeal at the hands of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), Finney Blake (Mason Thames) is struggling to move on with his life. His sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins having dreams about the murders of three young boys at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957, and becomes determined to find out the truth about what happened to them. Convincing Finney and Ernesto (Miguel Mora) to apply to be camp counsellors at Alpine Lake, Gwen sets off on her mission and upon arrival the trio is stranded at the camp due to a heavy blizzard. Once there, Finney and Gwen are taunted by The Grabber from beyond the grave, and have to race against time to stop him.
‘The Black Phone’ was a box office smash when it was released in 2021. The horror created a memorable new villain with The Grabber and it was genuinely scary. Telling the story of a man who was kidnapping and killing children, the film seemingly tied everything up in a nice bow as The Grabber met his fate at the hands of Finney. It was quite a surprise when a sequel was announced but given this is the horror genre, anything is possible. So just how did The Grabber manage to return following his grisly death?
‘Black Phone 2’ retains the main characters from the original film but it switches up the tone of the film to serve up something completely different. Finney is sidelined in favour of his sister Gwen, who is the main focus of this sequel. Whereas the first film was a more straightforward horror, this one is a psychological horror as Gwen battles The Grabber in her dreams. It’s hard not to draw comparisons with ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ and Freddy Krueger, and it’s an interesting direction to take the film in.
The film is hampered by a few things. The pacing is glacial and it takes nearly an hour for anything to really happen. I’m all for a slow burn but this film started to lose my interest. The mystery of the three young boys who have been killed is intriguing but it doesn’t really get enough exploration or focus. The Grabber is used effectively but oddly feels disconnected from the main plot, and dare I say he feels a little surplus to requirements at times. The film also attempts to explore a religious undertone and the fight between good versus evil, but it never fully commits so those elements end up feeling a little half-baked.
The three leads are very good – Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw – and they stay true to the characters that we met in the first film. It’s a shame that Thames isn’t given much to do as he’s a superb young actor, and it was his performance that really elevated the original film. Hawke clearly relishes playing a villain and McGraw continues to establish herself as a young actress with a lot of talent.
‘Black Phone 2’ is sadly an underwhelming sequel. ‘The Black Phone’ is one of my favourite horrors of recent years but this sequel is just unnecessary. We don’t need a rehash of ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ and I would have been more ready to accept that The Grabber had somehow survived, and was on the rampage again. Surely they can’t make any more films in this franchise after this?
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Miguel Mora Director: Scott Derrickson Writers: Joe Hill, Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill Certificate: 15 Duration: 114 mins Released by: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Release date: 17th November 2025 (Digital – Buy or Rent)
