The Black Phone (2022) Review
“A man never leaves a friend behind.”
Scott Derickson’s The Black Phone is a familiar Stephen King-inspired horror film that stands out thanks to some hauntingly visceral imagery and sharp direction. However, the film feels tonally muddled; unevenly scattering to find unnecessary comedy within the trauma, eventually leaning into a crowd-pleasing ending that doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the narrative. Ethan Hawke manages to give a terrifying performance yet one that doesn’t feel fully realized due to his shallow characterization. Mason Thames, in his first debut feature, gives a tremendous performance and manages to carry the best moments on his back – especially when put head-to-head with Hawke.
Denver, 1978. Finney (Thames) and Gwen Shaw (Madeleine McGraw) are children who live with their widowed abusive alcoholic father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), while a serial child abductor is loose in town. Finney has trouble with bullies at school but strikes a friendship with another classmate, Robin (Miguel Casarez Mora), who fends them off; telling Finney to stand up for himself in the process. Eventually, Robin gets kidnapped and, days later, so does Finney. Though there are two officers on the case – it mainly ends up being Gwen’s responsibility to save Finney due to her psychic premonitions; an ability her mother possessed as well. Finney ends up in a basement room with all but a black phone – which he is able to contact previous victims with. The Grabber, wearing various terrifying masks, frequently visits Finney seemingly to toy with him.
The central premise is incredibly interesting; using this supernatural element to tell a story of abuse victims being able to break the cycle for future children. It’s a film that initially leans towards more of a serious tone though the comedy and “crowd-pleasing” antics eventually muddle their way in; leaving more of an impact to be desired by the finale. And, yes, the finale does contain a couple well-executed shocking moments but Derrickson makes the choice to finally switch from “substance” to “style” here; a choice I wish he would have confidently chosen earlier on. It’s a film that feels a little disingenuous by the end; vaguely touching on darker and poignant thematic material and then dropping all of it for a cheeky ending where Finney escapes and, within the next story beat, “gets the girl.” There’s a lot of wasted potential for something a lot more cutting here – which is seemingly the direction it intends to go within the first act. And though the third act is formally effective here, it doesn’ belong in the story Derrickson seemed to be trying to tell at first.
Finney’s relationship with Robin is the emotional crux of the film and it’s executed in quite a tender manner within all the teenage brutishness. Derrickson channels the voices of these tormented boys in a way that not only feels unique in its visual implementation – but even compared to the rest of the characters. The dialogue of the boys, particularly Robin and Finney, feel much more subdued and natural than everyone else’s. McGraw does a fine job at playing the “smartass little sister” but her lines feel a little too unnatural and expository for a child – especially in contrast to Finney’s. Davies’ portrayal of a haunted abusive father is one that I couldn’t particularly get behind; feeling more like a cartoonish representation than one with depth. And that shallow villainous representation somewhat carries over to The Grabber as well; moments of creepiness sporadically intertwined with no true characterization to back it up. But, either way, Hawke does a tremendous job at what he has to work with.
Though within the muddled screenplay and lackluster dialogue, Scott Derrickson’s direction stands tall. He is able to channel the suburban Americana horror in a manner that feels less like an homage and more of a story that belongs in this time period; at least much more so than other popular IP’s ripping off the 70s/80s for cheap nostalgia. He crafts a formally functional horror film that, by the end, feels all too familiar to what audiences have seen before – though there still is some delight in watching an original IP. Though the “shock-value” finale features
some solid kills, it’s not enough to wrap the movie up in a manner that does its themes and initial narrative justice. Though, with talks of a sequel, I would love to see Derrickson take another stab within this world and maybe expand the concept a bit more; hopefully finding a confident tone off the get-go.
