After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer’s previous victims.
Scott Derrickson is a director I have genuinely come to admire. He started out making dreck like “Hellraiser: Inferno” and the not-so-impressive sci-fi thriller “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” but over time, he perfected his directing capabilities by churning out effectively creepy horror films like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “Sinister” and “Deliver Us from Evil,” culminating in one of Marvel’s best origin films, “Doctor Strange.” He comes full circle by returning to the horror genre with “The Black Phone,” based on the short story of the same name by Joe Hill.
In a suburban Colorado town in 1978, five children have gone missing, presumed dead, at the hands of a child killer dubbed “The Grabber.” Thirteen-year-old Finney (Mason Thames) and his younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), are very close after the loss of their mother, left to fend for themselves against their abusive drunken father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), who takes his anger and frustrations out on them, especially Gwen. It is revealed that their mother was clairvoyant and that Gwen appears to be following in her footsteps, having strange dreams about the young boys who have vanished. One Saturday afternoon, on his way back home, Finney comes across a man (Ethan Hawke) dressed up as a magician who offers to perform a magic trick for him but then quickly grabs him, knocks him out, and places him in the back of his van.
When Finney wakes up, he finds himself lying on a mattress in a dark, soundproof basement. The man tells him not to worry; he won’t hurt him, and then leaves him alone. Finney knows he is The Grabber and immediately tries to seek a way out, with no success. On the wall beside his mattress is an old black phone that has been disconnected, but suddenly it rings. Confused, he answers it and hears a young boy’s voice giving him vital information on how to survive his ordeal. When it rings again, it is a different voice, and he quickly ascertains that they are the voices of the victims who were killed by The Grabber, reaching out to him from beyond the grave. With each phone call, a new voice gives him critical intelligence. When he compiles it all together, he is able to progressively formulate a plan of escape before he becomes another victim.
Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw play siblings Finney and Gwen, and I could have watched an entire movie just about their characters and their lives they were so utterly believable. While Mason is the film’s star, Madeleine steals the show as his fiery and loyal sister. In one scene, three bullies beat Mason up, only for Gwen to jump into the fray, picking up a rock and hitting one of them in the head, knocking him to the ground bleeding profusely. She gets knocked down, too, but her allegiance to Mason is cemented in this scene. Later on, Mason wakes up to Gwen’s screams and discovers their drunk father beating her with a belt. Through her tears, she pleads with him to stop, and her heartbreaking request brought me to tears she was so convincing. While Mason is filled with anger, he doesn’t dare to do or say anything for fear of succumbing to the same punishment.
The story is a motivational catalyst for Mason; when we are first introduced to him, he is constantly being bullied in school and hasn’t developed the courage to stand up for himself yet, but after being kidnapped by The Grabber, along with the help of the killer’s previous victims, he gradually transforms from a frightened young boy into a strong and determined young man, displaying resolve he never knew he had, and coming to the realization that he doesn’t want to become another victim but instead, wants to live, and will do whatever it takes to accomplish that objective. After Mason has been abducted, Gwen begins having bizarre dreams that steadily put her on the right track to uncovering his whereabouts, along with the help of the local police.
Director Scott Derrickson displays a terrific grasp of the horror genre; he imbues the film with excellent performances, nightmarish locations, and a compelling but remorseless villain. We never get inside The Grabber’s head to know why he does what he does, and sometimes in a horror film, that is the best approach; we don’t always need a tragic backstory explaining how he became the person he is now, instead, we just have to understand that there are sinister people in the world who commit horrendous acts. Ethan Hawke demonstrates his versatility as an actor and fully embodies The Grabber with callous perseverance, never once showing restraint, assaulting and kidnapping whomever he sets his sights on, with no compunction whatsoever. When Mason and The Grabber have their inevitable face-off, along with all the information he has acquired from the previous victims, it is a confrontation worthy of applause.
In Theaters Friday, June 24th
