As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, his sister begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.
“Black Phone 2” picks up the narrative four years after the traumatic events of the first movie. Finney (Mason Thames), now seventeen, is struggling with deep-seated anger, which often erupts in violent confrontations at school, leaving classmates injured. While his body has healed from his horrifying run-in with The Grabber, emotional scars are still present. Even his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), notices how frequently he’s starting fights, often for no real reason.
At the same time, Gwen is haunted by disturbing psychic dreams: boys fleeing through snow, brutal acts of violence, and an ever-present sense of death. In one especially intense vision, she finds herself at a secluded mountain camp called Alpine Lake, talking with another young woman who’s tormented by similar nightmares. These dreams grow more persistent, culminating in a chilling scene where Gwen sees the spirits of three boys—victims from her visions—emerging from under the frozen lake. When she brings up Alpine Lake to their father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), he reveals that Gwen and Finney’s mother once spent time at that very camp. Gwen later confides in Finney about a recurring nightmare involving a black phone that won’t stop ringing—she knows The Grabber is on the other end each time she answers.
Determined to uncover the truth, Gwen and Finney sign up as junior counselors at Alpine Lake, joined by Gwen’s friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora). Upon their arrival, a fierce blizzard strands them, and they learn they might be the only people at the camp for the foreseeable future. As their isolation grows, Gwen’s nightmares intensify, and even Finney begins to hear the eerie ringing of a disconnected phone outside their cabin. When he answers it, The Grabber’s voice threatens revenge and warns he’ll come after Gwen.
Desperate for answers, the group turns to Armando (Demián Bichir), the camp’s supervisor, who reveals that three boys disappeared from Alpine Lake in 1957—and that their mother was at the camp during that time. Gwen soon realizes the woman from her vision is her mother, who also had psychic dreams, one of which is told in flashback to an event from the first film, revealing a shocking truth that had gone unnoticed. As The Grabber’s influence escalates, culminating in a violent assault on Gwen that’s witnessed by others at the camp, it becomes clear that the only way to end the terror is to find the missing boys’ remains and put their spirits to rest before The Grabber becomes unstoppable.
While the first movie trapped its characters in a stifling basement, “Black Phone 2” opts for the daunting vastness of a wintry wilderness: a deserted camp, a frozen lake, and mountains cut off by relentless snow. Here, the dangers of freezing are as real as the supernatural threat, with The Grabber now able to attack from beyond the grave—visible only to Gwen. In the film’s tense climax, as Gwen, Finney, and the camp staff search the icy lake for the lost children, The Grabber’s terrifying presence becomes undeniable, convincing even the skeptics.
Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw anchor the film with strong performances, their believable sibling dynamic adding emotional depth. The camp’s eerie, shifting shadows and uncertain lighting ratchet up the suspense, keeping viewers on edge throughout. Director Scott Derrickson, alongside C. Robert Cargill and Joe Hill, raises the bar for both horror and supernatural elements, while Ethan Hawke’s chilling return as The Grabber—mostly hidden behind a mask—remains deeply unsettling. Unlike many sequels that struggle to recreate the original’s tension, “Black Phone 2” not only honors but expands on what came before, moving the story forward with confidence.
The film wraps up with an ending that’s both conclusive and leaves room for more, suggesting that further chapters could follow. If audiences respond positively and the box office numbers are strong, “Black Phone” could become a flagship franchise for Universal and Blumhouse. Anyone who enjoyed the first installment is likely to find this sequel just as riveting.
In Theaters Friday, October 17th
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