The Black Phone snuck up on me and I managed to watch it without any background (other than Ethan Hawk being in it and a creepy cover). For instance, I wasn’t aware that this is from the director of Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose (and, randomly, the first Dr. Strange film). Also, based on a short story by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King and you can really tell. And I usually wouldn’t describe a supernatural horror/thriller as badass… but this flick is kinda badass.
Set in 1978, it follows a young teenage boy and his sister as they navigate junior high, bullies, and their own abusive father. A kidnapper stalks their town and before you can say stranger danger, the boy is kidnapped and locked in a basement with a disconnected black phone. Except the ghosts of past victims use that phone to call the boy. Meanwhile, the sister has her own way of helping via the spirit realm.
I found this movie wonderfully unpredictable. Sure, it’s playing in the kidnapped persons horror subgenre, but it dispenses with most of those clichés and does its own thing. The supernatural element is imaginative in both how the ghosts are visualized but also how they have character and help in their own ways. The sister is awesome as she’ll go beast mode on her brother’s bullies and deals with her own home trauma and random psychic powers.
The 70s vibe is strong with this one. I’m pretty sure I had that rainbow puffy jacket back then. It also including some really smart and very cool needle drops. Perhaps not the deepest of dives into 70s esoterica but the familiar tunes are used smartly and craftily.
Ethan Hawke plays the kidnapper and is almost always wearing a devil mask (with interchangeable expressions). It’s an interesting performance and a very cool look. I was mostly impressed by his apparently egoless willingness to hide his pretty face and just be a mysterious character.
The two teen actors (Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw) deliver. It was refreshing to have actual teens playing teens in a horror movie. Add to that the movie’s hardcore willingness to beat the shit out of them and not molly-coddle the audience. Not something most films would be willing to do with young actors or our impressionable eyes. And these two teen actors deliver on some very rough emotional moments.
I think this is a superb horror/thriller film. It didn’t need to have supernatural elements to be great, but I love that it adds them and not just the central conceit of the phone. Great acting all around and a very cool look and chilly tone mixed with some actual badass moments. Very good work.
Score: 92