Last weekend, Black Phone 2 was released in theaters. This is a follow-up to the successful The Black Phone written and directed by Scott Derrickson. His crew, as well as the actors, all returned to continue the story. Four years after the events of the first movie, Gwen, played by Madeleine McGraw, starts to get dreams of the deaths of three boys at a winter camp. Gwen and Finney, her brother, played by Mason Thames, go to the camp to solve the mystery.
There is something about a snowy horror movie that gets me excited. The Shining and The Thing are snowy movies, and they are some of the best horror movies. Snow creates a sense of isolation that not many weather events can. This story takes place in the mountains of Colorado after a blizzard hit, so the whole movie is snowy and icy, even the design of The Grabber.
The camerawork and visuals were a step up from the solid visuals from the first one. I loved the Super 8 camera used during dream sequences, making it very easy to indicate whether it was a dream or not. It was a clever stylistic choice that added a grainy effect that made it seem like found footage. Scenes that took place in reality also had great camera movement, specifically when Finney was in the phone booth while the camera rotated around.
I found this movie to be scarier than the first movie. Although the first movie was more grounded, which makes things scarier in its own sense, the scares in this one were better delivered. The dream sequences, which contained most of the scares and gore, combined with the grainy effect created very tense scenes. After the Terrifier movies, gore in horror movies, especially relating to kids, has been increasingly grotesque.
I loved the acting in this movie. I liked how they made The Grabber more violent and scarier. Finney was dealing with the trauma from the original events, which led to him being violent and scared all the time, but his sister was there to help him. The biggest improvement was Gwen’s story and characterization. She became more of the lead character, and she had many emotional moments, especially relating to their mother.
The biggest problem with this sequel is the story and writing. After the small-scale of the first, this movie is even bigger. The first was an isolated event where Finney happened to be taken. In this one, the writing ties Gwen and Finney’s mother way more into the story with some connection to The Grabber. This creates a connection that was not needed. The answers about how The Grabber was back were interesting, but not where I would have liked this movie to go. The final showdown left me a little let down. The third act seemed to just end.
Lastly, it wears the A Nightmare on Elm Street influences on its sleeve very heavily. The dream sequences were very similar in the way they were shot. The way that The Grabber appears from the shadow feels like Freddy.
Although I enjoyed this movie, I found it to be a slight step down. If the movie had a stronger story justifying its creation, then I may have liked Black Phone 2 better. This one was more slasher horror, while the first felt more like a psychological horror movie. I still recommend checking the sequel out if you enjoyed the first movie. If you haven’t seen either, you should check them out.
Junior Ranon Travers is a Staff Writer for the College Reporter. His email is rtravers@fandm.edu.