User reviews

The first Black Phone was engaging and had solid suspense, but it left several questions unanswered and felt somewhat predictable at times. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it lacked a bit of closure.

The sequel, however, improves on almost every aspect. It fills in the gaps left by the first film, provides meaningful explanations, and adds much more depth to the characters and their motivations. Overall, a stronger and more satisfying follow-up that enhances the original story.

I absolutely loved the first black phone film and found it to be a pleasantly great surprise. I was very interested in a sequel and I didn't know how it would work personally. I think the film is fine but it doesn't live up to the first film for me at all and I felt kind of disappointed throughout the film. I feel like the film was a bit unnecessary and I wish it would've been left alone and been a one off film. I think the movie has intriguing ideas and some of them work out but some moments don't work at all for me. I think the acting here is good for the most part and Madeline McGraw does a really strong performance and she kind of takes the lead role over from Mason Thames and I think they both do really good jobs in the film. Ethan Hawke is also terrifying as the grabber again as well and when he's on the screen he's great. There's also some beautiful shots and visuals here and I really like in these dream sequences when they use this grainy camera to capture the dream sequences here and I like the nightmare on elm street elements in the movie as well with the Grabber too. There's a decent story here though and I feel like they have some interesting story elements here but they don't execute it too well. I just don't like how they barely used the grabber though and it feels like the movie barely uses him and he has like little to no screen time at all. I also wish they would've used Finney more he's such a great character and he just gets sidelined for the most part and takes a massive backseat here. I think the movie is also not terrifying at all and there's legit no horror at all throughout the movie and I felt so disappointed by how little of horror was presented in this film and the grabber legit doesn't do like anything for the most part. This is still solid but I felt disappointed by this story here and it's still worth checking out but I feel disappointed still.

Need a dose of supernatural horror that riffs on itself and several other famous slasher films then welcome to the sequel to "The Black Phone", even though "The Grabber" (Ethan Hawke) is supposed to be dead.

Set in the 70's, just 4 years after the original (literally) and continuing on from the short story by Joe Hill (that's right Stephen King's son) comes "Black Phone 2".

Three of the original players are back as Councillors In Training at the super creepy snowed in Alpine Youth Camp where 3 children mysteriously died in horrific circumstances.

Does it feel like "Friday the 13th" (1980) to you too?

Well mix that with Freddy Krueger's "Nightmare On Elm Street" for the grainy film dream sequences and you're getting close to imagining what Scott Derrickson as the writer and director again has got cooking in the kitchen.

You'd think it would be impossible for the producers of "The Black Phone" to create a sequel when the serial killer and his brother were both killed violently in the first film, but in fact it's super easy, barely an Inconvenience.

All you have to do is have the villain return uttering these words to "Finney", "You of all people know that dead is just a word." Last time I went to a funeral it felt kind of final, but hey what would I know.

Ethan Hawke (The Grabber), Mason Thames (Finney), Madeleine McGraw (Gwen Blake), and Jeremy Davies (Terrence Blake) all reprise their roles from "The Black Phone" (2021).

Miguel Mora who played "Robin Arellano" in the first movie is back in the second movie as he plays "Ernesto", his own screen time brother and he's got the hots for "Gwen".

So much so he's bought her tickets to a hip concert.

You know the script from Derrickson is not Academy Award winning material when the antagonist utters lines like "Vengeance is mine".

Seriously?

Maybe the writers smoked more Mary Jane, The Devils Lettuce, Wacky Tobaccy or any other cool kids term for poor grade marijuana than "Finney"

Just wait till the ice carvings from the dead boys, who scrawled the letters W, B and H into the frozen lake, are miraculously linked to a long dead western folk hero "Wild Bill" Hickok.

I'm not making this up, but wish I were.

This crazy horror film is fractionally better than the original, but still humourless and not that scary.

Maybe I'm more desensitised to horror than a primary school student.

Thank goodness for a decent soundtrack including a version of Pink Floyd's seminal song, "Another Brick In The Wall".

The Black Phone 2 genuinely impressed me. It's a rare sequel that manages to be both terrifying and emotionally grounded.

The eerie setting immediately sets the tone, and with Scott Derrickson back in full force. His trademark Super 8 segments are once again a highlight, perfectly capturing that unsettling atmosphere he's known for. Derrickson proves he still knows how to make horror feel real. I found the sound design to be one of the film's strongest aspects. Loud and immersive.

The story carries surprising emotional weight, anchored by characters we actually care about. It's engaging and well-paced, though at times the structure does feel slightly repetitive. Still, those moments are quickly forgotten once the horror kicks in and when it does, it hits hard.

The performances are consistently strong, especially Madeleine McGraw and, of course, Ethan Hawke, who transforms the Grabber into something truly unhinged.

The Black Phone 2 delivers some chilling scares, grounded emotion, and top-tier direction. With this film, Derrickson reaffirms his place as one of horror's finest.

I saw the movie at the premiere and I will just say, the way that Madeliene McGraw delivers is just completely astonishing.

The casting director needs to get a raise with casting such amazing young talent!

Director Scott Derrickson effectively creates a tense and unsettling atmosphere, keeping viewers on edge throughout the film. The 1970s setting adds a nostalgic yet eerie backdrop to the story. The film takes time to develop its characters, particularly Finney and Gwen, making their plight more engaging and emotionally impactful. The use of the supernatural through the black phone adds a unique twist to the typical abduction narrative, providing an intriguing and suspenseful element to the plot.

Wow we have a new horror film for cold winter late nights and I am so happy 😂

This one affected me more than the first film, it was still solid but with this one I can say they improved a lot. The acting was phenomenal by the leads.

Definitely will be "grabbing" the blu-ray copy. It's so worth it along with the first film.

This is one of those movies that only exists because the original was too successful to be left alone. Hollywood just can't resist milking the cow until there's absolutely nothing left to squeeze out.

The first movie was great: dark, tense, with a creepy yet somehow grounded atmosphere. The Grabber was terrifying because you didn't know everything about him. That mystery worked. That uncertainty made you uneasy in the best way.

And then comes Part 2... It throws all of that out the window and turns into a half-baked mash-up of Nightmare on Elm Street and Stranger Things, just without the charm, the tension, or a real idea behind it.

This time it's not Finn in the spotlight but his sister Gwen, who starts having nightmares and visions of dead children. And somehow, someone thought it was a great idea to have the Grabber come back from hell (no joke) and haunt her dreams. So now it's half Freddy Krueger, half fantasy nonsense - except it's neither scary nor interesting.

The worst part, though, is that they try to explain the Grabber. They give him a backstory, almost turning him into some kind of tragic antihero. And in doing so, they strip away everything that made him compelling. The entire appeal of the first film was that you didn't know what made him so twisted.

Sure, some scenes look cool - the dream sequences are nicely shot, that grainy, foggy aesthetic is a bit reminiscent of Sinister. But it doesn't save the movie, because underneath, it's just hollow. The Grabber doesn't feel like a disturbing killer anymore, he feels like a parody of himself.

He stumbles around, can't kill properly anymore, keeps missing his targets, and the teens are literally mocking him. The menacing figure from Part 1 has turned into a guy in a mask who's just... sad.

And the script is full of holes. The dream logic, the connection to reality - none of it makes real sense. He could easily kill the characters, but he doesn't. Instead, he monologues, rambles, and disappears. It feels like the writers forgot the rules of their own world.

What annoys me the most: they force a backstory on him. That's the moment when most horror movies die. The second you explain evil, you take away its power. He was scary because you didn't understand him... now he's just another movie villain with trauma and unnecessary lore that no one asked for.

And of course, everything has to be bigger, flashier, and more action-packed, like always, when studios realize the first film worked. But in doing so, they lost exactly what made The Black Phone special: that quiet, cold fear, that feeling of helplessness. What's left is loud, soulless horror theater.

The movie isn't awful. It's competently shot, the acting's fine, and there are a few decent ideas. But it's completely unnecessary. The first one was closed, complete, and powerful. The second one is a textbook example of: "We didn't know when to stop."

A real shame.

Derrickson and Cargill have truly fashioned a franchise to follow in the footsteps of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" as the escaped captive Finn tries to find a sense of normalcy in his life after his traumatic encounter with The Grabber, but finds himself haunted by premonitions of disaster awaiting other children. Besides Elm Street there are nods to Nicholas Roeg's "Don't Look Now," "The Exorcist" and other tried and true Halloween chillers. It's unfortunate they deleted the scene of Hawke chasing Finn around Antone's record store in a pork-pie hat and bowling shirt, asking him if he wants to hear his favorite obscure sides of David Allan Coe and best solo Beatles compilation, but the filmmakers must have decided there's only so much horror families just beginning to pull themselves out of the Pandemic can stand, and the film as it stands will provide us with enough demon-filled nights of terror. They were right. Ring ring, Black Phone, ring ring. No call waiting, my friend; it's for you!

A fairly strong sequel. Scott Derrickson once again delivered his impressive directional work especially with the camera and cinematography and the very graphic dreamy sequences, which were visually striking and very effective and sometimes graphic.

Theres a lot of depth and authenticity in some of the movie's sequences While at times some of the dialogue felt a little uneven and giving off a very nightmare on elm street vibe.

The film was a different approach to the first one Black phone 2 slightly exceeded my expectations I didn't know what to expect but I liked the plot of this film I liked how the Grabber became the Grabber, and how they portrayed this story and how it was told but I felt like they could've delved more deeper into it that it could of made it a better sequel.

But it just didnt hit the same way as the first one did. I went into the movie theatre expecting the same depth, emotion, and mystery,etc but sadly it didnt quite deliver that same impact as Black phone did back in 2021.

You gotta be weary when you see some many 10 star and 1 star reviews.

This movie is your average ok sequel. Did it need to be made? No, but it was and I'm a horror fan so I'll watch it.

You get back story and the atmosphere is good. I left the theater feeling ehh.

So if you're a horror fan who liked the original then check it out, why not. If you never say the first one then skip this.

I wasn't actually that impressed with the first Black Phone, so went into this one with pretty low expectations.... and those low expectations were easily surpassed.

Its actually pretty good

Once again Directed by Scott Derrickson The Black Phone 2 takes place a few years after the original. Mason Thames (riding high this year after HTTYD) as Finney is trying to get on with his but, understandably, is dealing with a bit of PTSD after the events of the first movie. He's getting into fights at school, he's self medicating with.... the kinda stuff teenagers might smoke.... (😜)

His Sister Gwen, once again played by Madeleine McGraw seems to be having a better time of things, that until she starts having dreams / preminitions / post-minitions (?) that eventually lead both Finn, Gwen and their friend Ernest (Miguel Mora) to camp Alpine Lake, where wouldn't you know it, some kids were murdered, and it may just be connected to the Grabber, and to Gwen & Finn

That sets up the plot of the movie.

What I liked about The Black Phone 2 is its not just a standard remake style sequel. They actually try to do something different with the movie (and they succed)

There are a couple of really intense scare sequesnces,

The look of the film is GREAT. Cinematographer Pär M. Ekberg deserves a shout out. The visual language of hiow the movie goes in and out of dream sequences is VERY effective and very well done (its like a super8 old timey aesthetic that morphs into modern day cinema look, if that makes sense, Its very good.

Ethan Hawk is back as THE GRABBER although I'm not sure how much of it was actually him, in person, and how much was just his voice and s stunt douible

Even if it is just a voice role, its a good performance.

Mason Thames as Finn does well also, Demián Bichir also stand out in a supporting role, but the MVO here is Madeleine McGraw as Gwen. Her character takes centre stage in this movie and she (successfully) shoulders a lot of the heavy lifting, bit with the scare element, and the emotional element (there's a scene with her towards the end that REALLY hits you in the feels.)

For you gore hounds out there, it is pretty gory, more so than the forst one I would say, definitely an 18 rated movie.

It owes a fair amount to the Elm Street franchise I'd say, and the general 'Cabin in the Woods' sub genre (as thats essentially what this movie is)

But thats not a bad thing, as I said earlier, I thinkg its massive positive they didn't just remake the first one, as many horror sequels have a tendency to do

Gonna go with a 7/10 for the Black Phone 2, If you liked the first one I think you'll definitely like this one, and like me, if you weren;t that impressed with the forst one.... this is actually better IMHO.

Very stylish more disturbing, amazing soundtrack and satisfying sequel! Probably my only complaint was I had to sit near a heavy guy with loud breathing otherwise great experience.

Saw in RPX quality been a while since I've done that last time was for Ballerina right before I lost the job at the theater, wish I could work there again. Sorry for being off track regardless very enjoyable no wonder this is being praised.

6/10 gave the first 8/10

Pros Ethan Hawke is great Has that hot latina chick from Working Man In it.

Well made.

Cons Finn takes too much of a back seat to his sister Although impressive they were able to tie everything together; you can totally tell they made all this stuff up in retrospect and that everything that happens and and everything we find out in the movie only exists as to try and justify the sequel.

If there are going to be more black phone movies they need to do the following

1. New characters with new ghosts 2. If you are going to use Finn he needs to keep helping ghosts but have nothing to do with the grabber Or 3. Just make the movies about the grabber haunting new people and turn him into the new Freddie.

First of all, I have to admit I'm a huge fan of the first movie and when they announced that they're making a sequel, I was super excited about it. So, I went to the cinema to watch it and I have to say, it was a great cinematic experience and I enjoyed it, so much. The movie synopsis was very interesting and it was kinda different than the previous movie. The storyline was very well-written, well-explained and every question we had in the first movie, it was answered in the sequel. The main two characters (Finney and Gwen) were still very interesting, likeable and we had the chance to get to know them better. However, I have to say that Gwen was the highlight of the movie. The casting choices were mostly the same as before and their performances were excellent. By the way, Madeleine's acting was PHENOMENAL and I had no idea that she was such a great actresses. The filming location of the movie was a winter youth camp in the snowy mountains which was a great location for a horror movie to be filmed. Gladly, the sequel was more intense than before and it was more action-filled, I mean there were some great mini chase scenes during the movie. Also, I would consider it a very scary movie, since it was creepier and there were more jumpscares than before. Moreover, I have to say it was a very bloody movie, gory and this time, there were more onscreen kills. Furthermore, I need to say that the cinematography of the movie was BEAUTIFUL and the score of the movie gave me chills, not joking. Another thing I noticed is that the visions of the dead kids in the sequel had a longer duration and they were absolutely terrifying. Last but least, the 3rd act was extremely suspenseful, shocking AF, very gory and it was just PERFECT. By the way, the Grabber was more BRUTAL than ever. Overall, "Black Phone 2" was a great horror sequel, kinda emotionally intense sometimes (especially, the last scene), very bloody, with some great mini chase scenes, visually beautiful and I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

*The Black Phone* was a well-chosen film within its genre. It has a dense narrative structure and a harsh, straightforward theme, where young people and children were relentlessly crushed - yet, in defiance, they fought back. In this context, a sequel is both a risk and an opportunity. In my opinion, it does not disappoint and stands as an interesting continuation of the original. It remains to be seen whether this is, in fact, the Grabber's final waltz.

I saw an interview saying the director had to be convinced to make a a sequel and it definetly shows. Although the film is beautifully shot and is is in an amazingly atmospheric location, the story is weak and hand holds the audience through the plot. I found myself cringing at the dialogue most of the film and hoping that the plot would get better as the moving continued but it sadly fell apart.

I understand some of the negative feelings in these reviews, I didn't understand why they were making this sequel either. The first movie was so good and definitely ended in a satisfying way that didn't require any further exploration.

However, after seeing this follow up, I think it actually did a great job of expanding on the concept in a way that built on the first one.

The Grabber was threatening in a different way. The story not only went back to his start, but also back to the life of Finney and Gwen's mother.

The performances here were really good- particularly from Madeline McGraw and Ethan Hawk. While the dialogue was rough sometimes, that's only because they were trying to force 80's slang into it. None of the dialogue was particularly bad outside of that.

I'm really glad I went to see this and will definitely revisit both films in the future.

I have to give it up to Scott Derrickson. To create a sequel that is even more ambitious than his already ambitious first outing is impressive. Now, some of those ambitions pay off and other not so much, I applaud him regardless.

I'll start with some of the negatives. The acting felt all over the place. Most performances were good, but there were completely unconvincing moments as well. That could be attributed to some of the cheesy dialog though. I get that it took place in the 80's and that these are teenagers, but some of the lines just downright feel unnatural.

The signature direction Derrickson takes with his films also looms over this film. It's the same in Sinister, his VHS short, and even the first Black Phone film. It's getting a bit old now, and I'd like to see him go for something wholly different on his next outing.

I did enjoy the Freddy Krueger-esque Grabber this time around. It threw an interesting twist into the paranormal murder investigation. And Ethan Hawke plays a pretty good villian. Derrickson was also smart to end the film the way he did. A nice wrap up without a crappy hollywood stinger attempt to set up a sequel.

Overall, I really liked the story. I cared and was invested in the characters because of the first film, which is more than what you can ask from a sequel these days. Some of the plot devices were a little too convenient, and the acting a little weak at times, but to make up for those moments we got a fantastic Ethan Hawke as a truly horrifying presence. I recommend it on his performance alone.

3 ghost children out of 5.

This movie is way too overhyped. It wasnt great at all. If you seen the trailers for this movie, they basically show all the scary parts but overall this movie was boring, bland, and just a money grab pointless sequel. I was really trying not to fall asleep thats how boring this movie was. Its like a rip off version of Nightmare on Elm Street but less scary. I wouldn't waste your time to go see it. Just wait until it hits streaming platforms. The first one is way better.

"Black Phone 2" is a decent but inferior sequel to its first installment. The script features obvious nods to films like "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th", as well as more subtle nods to "Carrie", "The Shining", "Poltergeist", and "Curtains", telling a supernatural horror story with well-rounded characters. Scott Derrickson's direction is spot on, eliciting strong performances from the cast and excellent handling of his technical crew. The cinematography stands out, being eerie and, along with the filming locations, creating a disturbing atmosphere. The editing is good, giving the horror scenes intensity, and the sound design is gloomy and reminiscent of Derrickson's film "Sinister". The costume design is good, managing to capture the feel of the early 1980s. Mason Thames gives a mature performance full of emotion, Madeleine McGraw achieves an intense performance, especially in dramatic scenes, Miguel Mora gives a standout performance that contrasts with his character in the first part, Ethan Hawke, for his part, is chilling and achieves eerie body language, and veteran actor Demián Bichir gives a performance that moves between drama and a bit of comedy. "Black Phone 2" is inferior to its predecessor, but manages to be a worthy sequel.