Four years after the first film, Finney and Gwen are still dealing with the emotional trauma of Finney’s kidnapping by the Grabber… until Gwen has mysterious dreams that relate to a Christian winter camp, her dead mom… and the ghostly return of the Grabber.
The biggest compliment I can give this movie is the performances; everyone in this movie gives a fantastic performance.
Mason Thames brings a lot of nuance to his character, playing Finney as very conflicted and emotionally rattled in a way that is both frustrating and understandable at the same time, which feels very real.
Madeleine McGraw definitely steals the whole movie. For a 16-year-old, she brings a lot of emotion and vulnerability to the role. Like, I hope this girl is OK in real life because her ability to cry on command is very impressive and a little eerie lol.
It was nice to see Jeremy Davies and Demián Bichir pop up in this; both characters bring a warm, grounded realism to the story that brings a lot of emotion and liability to the film.
Ethan Hawke isn’t in the movie a whole lot, but he always brings gravitas to his roles, and I really like the design of the grabber in this one—kind of a frozen zombie look. It’s very interesting.
Another character in the film was Ernesto, played by Miguel Mora, Gwen’s friend/love interest and the brother of Robin from the previous film, who was Finny’s friend and the last victim of the grabber before Finney was taken. I did not realize they were played by the same actor until after the movie, so I have to give him some points for fooling me lol.
Arianna Rivas plays Mustang, and she gives a fine performance, but her character felt very underwritten and has nothing really to do except “be a cowgirl.”
There are these two older Christian counselor characters that felt more like characters than actual characters, like the actors did a fine job, but in a movie filled with nuanced performances, they definitely felt like they were just there to be victims of the grabber… Which they aren’t even really, so their characters feel out of place and are just really there to add to a “Stephen King crazy Christian” trope.
I did really enjoy the dream sequences and how they look like 8 mm film. These are probably my favorite sequences, and while I’m sure Freddy Krueger could sue for copyright infringement 😂, they are some of the best “Nightmare on Elm Street” type sequences we’ve had in a long time, so I got a kick out of that.
I do think the movie runs a bit too long; like, they could’ve cut 10-20 minutes, and the movie would’ve felt tighter. Plus, the dream sequences do get a little repetitive after a while.
A small nitpick I have is the way Gwen's dialogue was written; it felt inconsistent… Like in some scenes she uses a lot of 80s slang all at once, but then never again in the rest of the film, and she uses very colorful swears at people, but they feel a bit overwritten, and she never uses such colorful language in her regular vocabulary. You can tell the writers were having fun with how creative and nasty they could get with these curses, and it did add some comedic moments, but again, if she had used the 80s slang and swears a little more often instead of specific scenes, it wouldn’t have felt as chopped up as it did.
The filmmakers did a good job re-creating the 1980s. Granted, I wasn’t there, so I wouldn’t know, but a lot of the background ads, cards, and technology felt very time accurate and authentic, which I always appreciate.
The soundtrack felt very moody and very “John Carpenter-esque,” which I always enjoy.
The gore in this is very effective, brutal, and realistic-feeling. Not to mention some pretty well-done CGI in a few spots (I’m sure the 8 mm look definitely helped 😂).
The second half of this movie kind of becomes a “fetch quest,” and the “supernatural mechanics” of what they’re trying to accomplish aren’t really explained, which is a little bummer because the first film, I thought, worked the supernatural into the real world pretty well and nuanced, and this felt more like “video game logic.” especially at the climax, where they throw any rules out just for some “cool moments.”
I did like Scott Derrickson’s direction; he’s very good at combining artsy with scary and gets plenty of fun, impressive, and creative shots throughout the film.
There is also a “twist” in this movie that I personally did not care for; it is very cliché, and I thought, without spoiling anything… shrunk the universe.
I have more complicated feelings about The Black Phone 2; despite strong acting and characterization, the overall filmmaking. The story, pacing, and supernatural elements felt more half-baked compared to the first one. My guess is depending on how much you like the characters in the first one will determine how much you enjoy this one, and overall the film is serviceable, but it could’ve been stronger. I give the film a low three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Despite my problems, I can definitely see other people enjoying this and being entertained, so I can confidently say they didn’t… PHONE it in 😂.
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