The Black Phone (2022)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
50 connections found
View:
50 films that influenced The Black Phone
What critics say influenced The Black Phone
Returning to his horror roots after a brief dabble in the Marvel sandbox, director Scott Derrickson quickly reminds audiences why 2012’s “Sinister” was no fluke.
The team who brought us Sinister , director Scott Derrickson and his writing partner C. Robert Cargill, have reunited for another small scale, effective horror with a solid Stephen King vibe.
The Black Phone is Scott Derrickson’s latest film – and it is an extraordinary continuation of the concepts and approaches that he adopted in Sinister.
Seeing the name of Ethan Hawke as the lead, Scott Derrickson as the director, that it had a supernatural theme, and that the plot had to do with the disappearance of children, I couldn't help but think of “Sinister”.
Similar to Scott Derrickon’s previous horror hit, Sinister , The Black Phone is not devoid of fantastical elements and symbolic connections to grander themes, whether religious associations or explorations of realities as mundane as childhood bullying.
The duo who brought audiences “Sinister” now provides a film with a bleak yet entertaining reminder that horror is omnipresent, but sometimes you can find a lifeline in the darkest of hours, if you just listen.
Like his breakthrough picture, The Exorcism of Emily Rose , it combines conventional horror themes – in this case a masked child murderer (fully and terrifyingly inhabited by Ethan Hawke) and a supernatural element – with a rewarding depth of dramatic detail.
Director, Scott Derrickson is primarily known as a horror director, with the biggest of his work being The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister .
To this day, Scott Derrickson hasn’t surpassed his sophomore feature, The Exorcism of Emily Rose .
Between the two Sinister films, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil — hey even Urban Legends: Final Cut and Hellraiser: Inferno , I’ve liked Scott Derrickson’s films.
Like a lot of his previous films, especially “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, here too we get a lot of genre meshing.
In writer/director/bris master Scott Derrickson’s first movie since 2016’s Doctor Strange (he exited Doctor Strange and the Long F*cking Title over “creative differences”- which really meant the studio wouldn’t ensure his demand to have a live chupacabra in his trailer to greet him after shooting wrapped), Derrickson goes back to the horror well, the same genre in which he made his feature debut The Exorcism of Emily Rose , a movie in which priest is accused of killing a young child.
Between the two Sinister films, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil — hey even Urban Legends: Final Cut and Hellraiser: Inferno , I’ve liked Scott Derrickson’s films.
He started out making dreck like “Hellraiser: Inferno” and the not-so-impressive sci-fi thriller “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” but over time, he perfected his directing capabilities by churning out effectively creepy horror films like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “Sinister” and “Deliver Us from Evil,” culminating in one of Marvel’s best origin films, “Doctor Strange.”
Derrickson, himself, of course, Coming off his venture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2016’s Doctor Strange , Derrickson himself has followed the director’s handbook in some respect in terms of cutting his teeth by directing horror films Hellraiser: Inferno and The Exorcism of Emily Rose but he has refined his craft hugely in the years since and The Black Phone is him at his most assured, primarily given his closeness to the subject matter.
En este sentido vale aclarar que Derrickson es un realizador y guionista desparejo, como casi siempre lo son los creadores que trabajan mayormente por encargo, con la capacidad de entregar basura como Doctor Strange (2016), la realización que originó la secuela de la discordia, Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), quinto y bizarro eslabón para video de la franquicia iniciada por la gloriosa faena original de Clive Barker de 1987, y El Día que la Tierra se Detuvo ( The Day the Earth Stood Still , 2008), remake muy poco interesante del clásico de ciencia ficción de Robert Wise de 1951, propuestas mediocres aunque con alguna que otra escena eficaz que dejaba en evidencia la destreza de Derrickson para el aprovechamiento de las fórmulas retóricas más antiguas, pensemos por ejemplo en El Exorcismo de Emily Rose ( The Exorcism of Emily Rose , 2005) y Líbranos del Mal ( Deliver Us from Evil , 2014), y finalmente obras en verdad loables que recurren en gran medida a múltiples clichés de los géneros en cuestión…
From The Exorcism of Emily Rose to Sinister , not forgetting Marvel's Doctor Strange or his 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still , it's strange that a director so talented & capable of transforming low budgets into visually immersive movies doesn't have more chances to shine.
He started out making dreck like “Hellraiser: Inferno” and the not-so-impressive sci-fi thriller “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” but over time, he perfected his directing capabilities by churning out effectively creepy horror films like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “Sinister” and “Deliver Us from Evil,” culminating in one of Marvel’s best origin films, “Doctor Strange.”
En este sentido vale aclarar que Derrickson es un realizador y guionista desparejo, como casi siempre lo son los creadores que trabajan mayormente por encargo, con la capacidad de entregar basura como Doctor Strange (2016), la realización que originó la secuela de la discordia, Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), quinto y bizarro eslabón para video de la franquicia iniciada por la gloriosa faena original de Clive Barker de 1987, y El Día que la Tierra se Detuvo ( The Day the Earth Stood Still , 2008), remake muy poco interesante del clásico de ciencia ficción de Robert Wise de 1951, propuestas mediocres aunque con alguna que otra escena eficaz que dejaba en evidencia la destreza de Derrickson para el aprovechamiento de las fórmulas retóricas más antiguas, pensemos por ejemplo en El Exorcismo de Emily Rose ( The Exorcism of Emily Rose , 2005) y Líbranos del Mal ( Deliver Us from Evil , 2014), y finalmente obras en verdad loables que recurren en gran medida a múltiples clichés de los géneros en cuestión…
Scott Derrickson, who previously brought us the hackneyed and tedious Deliver Us from Evil (2014) and the witty, wildly engaging Doctor Strange (2016), has rather covered his bases here.
The Black Phone is the long-awaited horror opus directed by Scott Derrickson ( Sinister, Exorcism of Emily Rose , and Deliver Us from Evil ) and written by Joe Hill ( Locke and Key , Creep Show , and NOS4RA2 ).
Between the two Sinister films, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil — hey even Urban Legends: Final Cut and Hellraiser: Inferno , I’ve liked Scott Derrickson’s films.
Director Scott Derrickson has made several really effective horror films, including Deliver Us From Evil and Sinister .
Having started his career in the genre with such films as 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose and 2014’s Deliver Us From Evil , Derrickson eventually teamed up with writer C. Robert Cargill where they created Sinister before venturing into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2016’s Doctor Strange .
He started out making dreck like “Hellraiser: Inferno” and the not-so-impressive sci-fi thriller “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” but over time, he perfected his directing capabilities by churning out effectively creepy horror films like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “Sinister” and “Deliver Us from Evil,” culminating in one of Marvel’s best origin films, “Doctor Strange.”
While the marketing materials present The Black Phone as something in the vein of Se7en - and there are some definite nods to Fincherism in the film - it owes much more to Stephen King.
The grim look reminds us of other thrillers such as "Se7en" (1995) and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).
One starts to think about movies like Fincher’s Panic Room , Silent House (even if it is narratively lacking), and Don’t Breathe .
Expect a surprising smattering of Home Alone , MacGyver, Panic Room .
What ensues is the next step beyond Zodiac, as Derrickson absorbs and transforms David Fincher’s vision of the serial killer as an emblem of suburban space in the 70s.
Aus einem paranormalen Horrorfilm im Gewand eines Krimis wird ein durchwegs düsterer, in schmutzig-rostigen Brauntönen gefilmter Entführungsfall, der in seiner desillusionierenden Machart an David Finchers Zodiac erinnert, allerdings durchsetzt mit paranormalen Elementen.
This turns out to be a pity because Ethan Hawke’s The Grabber immediately reminds me of Pennywise in Stephen King’s It since both of them are vicious antagonists who abducted children in the small town.
In a lot of ways, it’s like a minature version of It, written by Hill’s legendary father Stephen King, in the way it combines a child’s view of the world with the dangers lurking in it.
Once The Black Phone transforms into a full-on story of survival, it channels Stephen King features It and Stand By Me in that children must work together to overcome impossible scenarios that would be difficult to face even as adults.
IT ’s Pennywise is creepier – it’s tough to beat a demonic clown – but The Black Phone ’s The Grabber serves up solid competition among horrifying antagonists in films based on Stephen King or his son Joe Hill’s twisted stories.
Literary fans of the horror genre might be quick to associate the black balloons – that seem to be there just to draw attention to writer Joe Hill’s association with father Stephen King, and the red balloons in the latter’s “IT”.
There are obvious comparisons to It (Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son, after all, and shares with his father a penchant for stories about human goodness and frailty mixed with the supernatural), as well as Stranger Things , which is deeply influenced by King’s work.
All of this combined gives the film a nostalgic feel, reminiscent of vintage photographs and the era of striped baby tees, flared jeans, and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” playing in theaters.
Finney and Robin talk about the 1974 horror movie “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” which Finney says his strict father would never allow him to see because he’s underage.
More important than this, the dialogue evokes films of the era, pointedly referencing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – which gives a solid idea where the filmmakers heads were at and what they were trying to achieve (down to the casting of Thames, whose appearance is eerily reminiscent of actors from that time that it felt as if we recognized him from one of those films).
That authentic 70s vibe extends to the rest of the production, including characteristically fluffy hair, conversations about Happy Days and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , with copies of Starlog magazine prominently displayed in a grocery store.
Advertisement
The grim look reminds us of other thrillers such as "Se7en" (1995) and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).
A whole escape sequence involving a combination lock is as stressful as it gets, and the film pays off in crowd-pleasing fashion while, most importantly, feeling earned, even while a climactic bit of misdirection is an obvious lift from “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Film bu yönüyle yer yer The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ve Scream (1996) filmlerini akla getiriyor.
Em agosto, já havia sido disponibilizado o primeiro trailer, mostrando que o vilão gordo da literatura fora substituído por Ethan Hawke, com uma máscara e cartola que trazia referência a Lon Chaney em London After Midnight.
Desde ya que El Teléfono Negro no es para nada novedosa o “de quiebre”, sin embargo su arribo es motivo de celebración porque se extrañaba muchísimo una odisea atrapante y osada alrededor del latiguillo a priori quemado del homicida en serie en busca de una presa siempre dócil, planteo que hoy por suerte se complejiza y se expande a través del genial trabajo actoral de Thames y un Hawke que despunta como un villano antológico con una galera y una máscara diabólicas semejantes al Lon Chaney de La Casa del Horror ( London After Midnight , 1927), legendaria epopeya muda y perdida de Tod Browning, y al Doctor Caligari de Werner Krauss de El Gabinete del Dr. Caligari ( Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari , 1920), obra maestra de Robert Wiene.
Later, Finney is seen watching the 1959 horror movie “The Tingler” on TV one night, which is a scene inspired by director Derrickson doing the same thing when he was a child.
With supernatural dread lifted directly from the likes of Stir of Echoes and The Sixth Sense , The Black Phone features a breakthrough performance from Madeleine McGraw while Ethan Hawke’s hauntingly memorable turn as The Grabber is felt in a hair-raising sense; like someone who has unknowingly snuck up behind you and waits in your peripheral for that dramatic reveal.
While some of the spoken lines defy logic (one character seems obsessed with his memories of Finney's pitching arm), each seemingly insignificant detail comes together in an exhilarating climax, reminiscent of early M. Knight Shyamalan films like Signs and The Sixth Sense.
Relying too heavily on quick jolts and jump scares, some moments of The Black Phone feel like the more PG-13 moments of The Sixth Sense .
And the supernatural elements of “The Sixth Sense” (and numerous other horror flicks).
Advertisement
Thanks to cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz – who is hot off this year’s Scream and also currently shooting Scream 6 – the rich, grainy look of the film is as warm and nostalgic as it is ominous.
Boosté par une excellente musique indus de Mark Korven (qui explose lors du générique initial, largement inspiré de celui de Seven de Fincher) et des images volontairement délavées de Brett Jutkiewicz (le récent reboot de Scream ), Black Phone n’est sans doute pas un sommet dans le domaine de la peur.
Film bu yönüyle yer yer The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ve Scream (1996) filmlerini akla getiriyor.
They also enthusiastically discuss the 1973 Bruce Lee action film “Enter the Dragon,” which is “The Black Phone” filmmakers’ nod to how popular Lee was with teenage boys in that era.