PREMISE
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.
THE GOOD STUFF
Mason Thames and Madeline McGraw- Both of these actors gave two of the greatest child performances that I’ve ever seen, 5 years ago in the first film. It’s good to see that their skills have only gotten better since then. The script is a little bit flipped this time, and McGraw has a lot more to do in terms of the story, but that doesn’t make the journey of these characters any less potent.
The story does an excellent job of explaining that Finney (Thames) has a much more rigid exterior and is ready to throw hands whenever need be, even if he is scared. He’s still very vulnerable and clearly very traumatized by the experiences of the first film, and the character is very well-rounded. This could have easily gone the other way, with him becoming some overtly tough individual, and they found a common balance. McGraw is the star of the show. She’s so good in this movie that even when the supernatural elements get a bit out of hand, she keeps everything centered with a very soulful performance. In the first movie, she was understandably playing scared a lot of the time, with very few moments of bravado. But this character has grown quite a bit since the first one, and when the bravado needs to come, she has it in spades.
Transitions– There’s a lot of sleepwalking and dream sequences when it comes to this film. A lot of that could have just been shot straight up, like many movies do when it comes to dream sequences and sleepwalking, but this movie does a lot more creative stuff. I was really impressed that they chose to blend the film’s look to make it look like it was shot on Panaflex cameras in the 1970s. They nailed the retro look of that time so accurately. They even went the extra mile to create a crackling sound, like a vinyl record would make, whenever these dream sequences occurred. And then, once the sequence was over and we had to go back to modern times, there was this effortless blend of taking that visual palette and changing it to how modern-day movies look within a split second, making it feel like a dream world. I hope I’m explaining that properly, but man, it was impressive to see.
THE BAD STUFF
THE RULES- Horror movies have rules. Rules the film must follow to explain why the antagonist can harm the protagonists. Things must happen in a particular order for the third act of the film to completely make sense. The excellent horror films understand those rules and don’t make them up as they go along. The really bad ones abandon everything just so that horror movie stuff can happen in the third act.
This movie toes the line with its rules. It sets up their rules in a particular way, and it bends and breaks them in a way that’s just too noticeable. This movie very directly explains how the Grabber communicates with them and the limitations of his power. Only to have them recklessly abandoned in the final sequence of this film, just to make horror stuff happen. It’s not as sloppy as a lot of other horror movies are. But it’s noticeable enough to leave the theater with questions as to why certain things were possible.
THE UGLY STUFF
THE GRABBER- This takes a much harder left turn into the supernatural realm than the first film does, to mention anything else would go into spoiler territory.
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The first black phone movie was, in fact, a masterpiece and within my top five of 2021. I never expected this to reach those heights, and it does not. The first black phone was clearly designed to be a one-off. The sequel is not supposed to be better per se. Instead of comparing this to that, it’s wiser to compare this movie to the field of horror movies released in 2025. It’s nowhere near as good as sinners or weapons. However, just looking at the field of horror movies released this year… (I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and FINAL DESTINATION 6) and especially the ones that have come out in the last 3 or so months…. (Him, Shelby Oaks, Conjuring 4) BLACK PHONE 2 is an A+.
Not an A, but an A+.
THE BLACK PHONE 2 is in theaters now