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.
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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.
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).
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.
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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).
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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.