Written by Scott Derrickson And C. Robert Cargill
Directed by Scott Derrickson
The Grabber (to Finney): "It took a long time but you of all people know that dead is just a word."
I got to admit - I was surprised that a sequel for The Black Phone actually happened. I know it was a massive hit but it was grounded for a horror movie and the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) seemed very much dead.
However because it was a hit and had supernatural/ghost elements, of course a sequel had to happen. Being dead usually doesn't keep a good horror villain down as both Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) were about to find out.
Since the events of the first movie, the brother/sister duo's lives haven't improved a lot. On the plus side, Terrence (Jeremy Davies) has stepped up a bit as a father to them but they're still social pariahs in their school. Finney's even gotten moodier and violent as well as refusing to give Gwen's dreams any attention.
With the first movie alluding to Gwen's abilities being inherited from her mother, Hope (Anna Lore), this movie decided to take things to a much colder location in order to get some answers. Yup, we had Finney, Gwen and Robin's brother, Ernesto (Miguel Mora) visit the Alpine Lake Camp to learn a lot more than expected.
In between a blossoming romance between Gwen and Ernesto and unhelpful counsellors, it turned out that this particular setting was where the Grabber had started off his killing spree, which included Hope. Oh and he'd back as a homicidal ghost to boot.
Yup, touching into Freddy Krueger territory, the Grabber wasted no time in terrorising both Finney and Gwen in this much colder environment and adding to his large enough body count. However the ghosts of previous victims and Finney/Gwen working together meant that things didn't end so good for the Grabber yet again.
- Some solid supporting roles for Demián Bichir as Armando and Arianna Rivas as Mustang. I also liked Gwen's utter contempt for Barbara (Maev Beaty).
- Miguel Mora previously played Robin but in this movie he played Ernesto. I didn't recognise him at first.
- Standout music: FEX's Subways Of Your Mind and Duran Duran were mentioned by Gwen and Ernesto.
- Chronology: Four years since the events of the first movie. There was also flashbacks to 1957.
Black Phone 2 made for an okay sequel. It did try to up the ante from what the first entry did and again, the Finney/Gwen team up was it's biggest strength. Overall I did like, I just didn't love it as a second outing.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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