nydjames

I gave Black Phone 2 a six because it is fine, but it never becomes anything more than that - and the reason is staring us right in the credits.

The director, Scott Derrickson, returns from the first film. So far so good.

But the editor does not. And you can feel it in every single scene.

Louise Ford takes over editing duties this time, and the entire film suffers for it. Horror needs rhythm. Horror needs pacing. Horror needs the slow tightening of a rope around your chest until you cannot breathe. Instead, this sequel just... sits there. Scenes that should sprint crawl. Scenes that should build settle into long, saggy stretches of nothing. There is no escalation, no tightening, no dread - only time passing.

The first Black Phone, edited by Frédéric Thoraval, understood tempo. That's gone now.

In Black Phone 2, tension never gets a chance to exist.

The movie spends far too much time inside dreamworld sequences that feel like they wandered in from a Freddy Krueger fan film, but even that could have worked if the editing built momentum. It never does. There is no build from scene to scene, no emotional arc from beginning to end, and absolutely no crescendo. Imagine trying to play a horror symphony when the editor keeps insisting it should be played adagio.

On a petty note - because at this point why not - even the character names feel like someone made them up five minutes before lunch.

Black Phone 2 could have been scary. The ingredients were there.

But the editing drains every drop of suspense out of it.

I watched The Conjuring 4 last night and... yikes.

The franchise has always leaned into its Catholic themes, but this one beats you over the head with it - God, love, more God, more love - delivered with the subtlety of a church bell dropped on your head. The melodrama is constant, the acting so over-the-top that it borders on parody.

Then there's the big new storyline: the daughter's love interest. They spend so much time on this incredibly dull romance - ping-pong with Dad, awkward flirting - all clearly designed to set up a "next generation" installment. They even say that phrase out loud. Subtlety is dead.

There are a few small bright spots: I always enjoy seeing real photos of Ed and Lorraine Warren in the credits. And if you stay through to the very end, there's a tiny surprise tag. But by then, you may already be halfway to the parking lot.

Mostly? Melodramatic. Boring. The weakest film in the series by far - and a sad sign they're stretching this universe past its limits.