The Black Phone (2022)
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 (imdb.com).
Cast and Information
Directed By: Scott Derrickson
Written By: Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Starring: Ethan Hawke, James Ransone, Jeremy Davies, E. Roger Mitchell, Madeleine McGraw, Troy Rudeseal, Miguel Cazarez Mora, Rebecca Clarke, J. Gaven Wilde, Spencer Fitzgerald, Jordan Isaiah White, Mason Thames
Genres: Suspense/Thriller, Crime, Horror
Where to Stream
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The Black Phone belongs to 1 collection
1. 0: On My Radar (private: KasperL - 3 stars)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 5 |  |
Mentaculus | 53 26% |
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Often in mid-tier horror interesting ideas and performances can save a bad script and half-baked execution. Sadly, despite some commanding acting by the principal child actors and Hawke and lovely dread, this is not one of them. It tries to be a kidnap thriller, ghost story, and trauma picture all at the same time so becomes none of these. It’s the kind of piece you just swear feels like a remake of a better unknown Japanese horror film. Which is a bummer it isn’t because I’d totally watch that.
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| 4 |  |
Obdurate | 65 28% |
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Great beginning. Hawke is fine but there isn't enough material for him to be memorable, outside of the masks and a few parts. The fault is in the writing. Take away the supernatural stuff and you got another "serial killer locks someone in a basement." I use this as a criticism because at the same time, the supernatural stuff adds nothing. The pacing is fine. The message is fine. The sister is the best character ("you dumb fucking fartknocker" and "jesus, what the fuck?"). Good atmosphere too.
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| 3 |  |
BillyShears | 80 77% |
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Some places are like people: some shine and some don't.
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| 2 |  |
eric-jan | 65 31% |
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Sure, it was good and I liked the child actors.. but somehow I felt it was done before. Plus the most important thing.. the Black Phone, is never really explained. Why the hell did the killer keep it there? Why does the main character and his sister have superpowers? Why do the police take the credits at the end.. Why does the killer kill in the first place? So many questions :D anyway, some good scares and overall it was better than most horrors.
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| 1 |  |
TheRealJ-Ro | 75 55% |
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I dug it! It felt authentic to its setting, the performances were mostly on-point, it's shot well, sufficiently creepy and believable. It's a horror movie you can actually suspend your disbelief for, which is tough to accomplish, especially when it swings the supernatural on you. It's being overhyped as a genre phenom, but there are good reasons to like it all the same. If we got more of this and less of the low-rent schlock that plagues the genre, horror would be in a much better place.
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| 1 |  |
Mirelurk | 77 71% |
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I really liked this, it's by the numbers but I think it was executed really well.
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| 1 |  |
kgbelliveau | 89 77% |
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Ethan Hawke is fantastic in this film. He is generally creepy and you definitely feel the tension his character brings to the table. Once the story picks up with Finney we truly are subjected to a fantastic thriller with some cool sequences that add to that tense atmosphere. The story does not over complicate itself which helps explain the supernatural elements very well. It keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout and that is what you want out of a film like this.
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| 1 |  |
MontyCircus | 60 68% |
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Enjoyable, quick little film based on a short story by Stephen King Jr. Honestly I'm just glad this wasn't blown up into an 8-hour mini-series like everything else seems to be these days.
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| 1 |  |
Leonardis | 90 66% |
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Might be Derrickson’s best movie. Hawke is pretty haunting (and damn excellent) as The Grabber, but the real horror here, for me at least, was the unease of the town. The other kids at school and the father were scary in a different way. The supernatural stuff was great too though. I like all of those elements. I actually like how ambiguous some things were by the end. The acting, pacing and claustrophobia more than made up for that. The child actors were damn good, as was the movie.
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| 1 |  |
iamianiman | 60 59% |
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The kids are not dumb, I like it.
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| Average Percentile 48.58% from 322 Ratings |  |