A bigger budget than the original can’t save Black Phone 2 

In Black Phone 2, four years after surviving brutal killer known as The Grabber, 17-year-old Finney Blake isn’t just a survivor, he’s a hunter. But darkness doesn’t die easily. The Grabber returns and sets his sights on a new victim, Finney’s younger sister, Gwen. 

After the immense success of director Steve Derrickson’s original Black Phone film, Derrickson had to know that he would need to aim higher to keep the attention of spectators, and in some respects, the films succeed. Black Phone 2 is incredibly filmed, the cast is awesome, and the film’s parallel sleep world evokes a fascinating and mysterious atmosphere that gets exploited for a lot of unique jump scares. But at other times, the film falls into old, cliché tropes that kills the interest of the viewer. 

Black Phone 2 is a slasher/psychological horror film with some parts shot in an 80’s aesthetic. The main action finds us watching a horrifying killer in a white, devilish mask hunting a teenage girl called Gwen in her dreams. The movie follows Nightmare on Elm Street rules: if you die in a dream, you also die in real life. Every time Gwen falls asleep the Grabber is closer to killing her.  

Meanwhile three of the Grabber’s victims show up in her dreams and try to help Gwen find a way to kill him.  

This makes for a serious and breathtaking atmosphere because while Gwen is on path to find a solution to be free of the torment of the Grabber, at the same time he is hunting her trying to drive her crazy. 

If you didn’t watch the first film, you will have a hard time understanding this film in the beginning, but gradually you will understand everything, which is great. In the first film Finney killed the Grabber, but the Grabber was able to revive himself by feeding off of the fear of his victims and came back to hunt Gwen.  

Some scenes are very brutal and horrifying, and at the beginning there are a lot of original jump scares that will send goosebumps across your body. It starts as this extreme intensity especially in the dream scenes recorded with an old 80’s feel. However, the film seems to slow down and lose its energy towards the end – unusual for a horror film. The last thirty minutes of the film is basically a chase scene with little of the atmospherics that generated interest in the beginning. The dream world turns more sci-fi than horror and it kills the enjoyment that was built up in the first half. 

The effects and the mystery of this film—while they last—are good, and the actors are great. Manson Thames as Finney and Madeliene McGraw as Gwen both give breathtaking performances. And Ethan Hawke as Gwen’s father makes a great and believable turning point near the end of the film. 

On the other hand, this film has a lot of mistakes and things that don’t make sense. In one scene, Gwen gets a deep axe cut into her arm which bleeds for a bit but then magically stops. She seems to just sort of shrug the wound off and it doesn’t bother her much at all.  

Black Phone 2 is a decent horror flick, but it won’t take your breath away. The first film was overall scarier and more enjoyable than this sequel.  

This is a little surprising because the sequel has a bigger budget at $30 million and better filming skills. Still, the $18 million first film was better. 

The phone rang heavily and loud the first time, the second time the ringing was quieter. 

Cover Image: Screenshot from Black Phone 2