The Black Phone

No preamble here. This was a damned good movie. Acting? Fantastic. The kids they found for the two lead roles are light years above their age. They both convey the fear of the situation, and in the movie’s opening chapter, a very sweet brother-sister relationship that’s believable. Everything about these kids felt genuine. And Ethan Hawke, who I think is unfairly below the radar as far as Hollywood goes, is chilling as The Grabber. His performance and the script always keep you just a tad off-kilter as to his intentions. We KNOW he’s a child murderer, but the way he’s portrayed, you never can put your finger on what’s driving him, which makes it all the more creepy. And that authenticity goes to the setting of the late 70’s. Scott Derrickson brings that era to life without feeling like a cliche (hi, Stranger Things!). His direction here, in every way, captures what it needs to: the feeling of the times, the right mood for the moment, everything. It makes me sad we didn’t get his Doctor Strange 2, because his mastery of horror is on a different level than Sam Raimi (yeah, I said it, come at me). But then we wouldn’t have gotten this, so, fair trade. And the slow build is done excellently here, both in terms of general tension, and the way the plot seems to have all these dead ends that end up tying together in the end. It’s expertly done. I don’t think it deserves the “best horror movie of the year” accolades I’m seeing, though. The plot has to allow for some dumb choices for things to happen the way they need to (for instance, there’s an escape sequence where the boy could subdue or kill The Grabber easily, and he doesn’t, because it would short-circuit the movie); it’s not infuriating, but I wish there was a better in-universe explanation for it besides “he wasn’t ready”. And although it’s marketed as a horror movie, it’s not. Even my horror-averse wife called it “horror-lite”. It’s tense, but it’s not scary in the slightest. Not that it has to be scared every few minutes, but, if you’re going to wear the clothes, play the part, you know? Because otherwise, as far as horror goes, this is a movie that proves you can be half-wet.  Still, it’s an excellent movie. The flaws do not outweigh the positive by any stretch. It has a modest goal, and it achieves that goal. And it deserves more shine than it’s modest ambitions will likely earn it.