Black Phone 2
October 15th, 2025
MOVIE: BLACK PHONE 2
STARRING: MASON THAMES, ETHAN HAWKE, MADELEINE MCGRAW, DEMIÁN BICHIR
DIRECTED BY: SCOTT DERRICKSON
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 114 MINUTES
There was a time when a movie getting a sequel wasn’t always a given. These days, it’s practically standard practice—sequels are often greenlit before the credits even roll. The Black Phone wasn’t the film I expected to launch a franchise. If memory serves, the terrifying figure known as “The Grabber” met his end in the original. But as horror fans know, the past has a way of clawing its way back, and that’s exactly what director Scott Derrickson pulls off in Black Phone 2, shifting the narrative while delivering a new, chilling nightmare.
Set years after the events of the first film, the story follows 17-year-old Finn (Mason Thames), still grappling with the trauma of his abduction. Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) continues to experience harrowing visions and receives ghostly calls on the Black Phone. These messages, from the souls of The Grabber’s past victims, lead her to a Christian camp at Alpine Lake. Drawn together by dark visions and unresolved horrors, Finn and Gwen are once again pulled into a dangerous mystery, one that suggests The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) may not be entirely gone. Whether asleep or awake, he’s still coming for them.
What sets Black Phone 2 apart is its sharp, well-constructed screenplay by Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill. Beneath the jump scares and dream sequences lies a sobering story about lost innocence and lingering trauma. The boldest narrative shift is making Gwen the protagonist. She’s the Nancy Thompson of this world, facing a villain with the spectral menace of Freddy Krueger. Her dream sequences, where she’s violently pulled into terrifying visions while counselors Mando (Demián Bichir) and Mustang (Arianna Rivas) try in vain to wake her, are clear homages, but they’re executed in a way that expands the mythos. What began as a ghost story now flirts with dream-invasion horror.
That said, the film does stumble in places. The climax feels constrained by budgetary limits, never quite delivering on the scale it builds toward. And while The Grabber remains a terrifying presence, we still don’t get much deeper insight into his origins or motivations- a mystery perhaps being saved for the inevitable third chapter. Still, Ethan Hawke is haunting, using the now-iconic mask and unnerving body language to deliver another skin-crawling performance.
Derrickson deserves credit for his direction, especially in how he uses visual techniques to distinguish dream from reality. Dreams are shot in grainy 16mm, giving them an otherworldly texture, while waking life is rendered cold and bleak. These choices elevate the film beyond the usual horror sequel expectations.
Black Phone 2 may not match the eerie freshness of its predecessor, but it brings enough new ideas and genuine scares to stand on its own. The fear is real, and once again, it’s terrifying to fall asleep.
3 STARS
BLACK PHONE 2 IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
