Of all the recent horror films that one would expect to see a sequel for, The Black Phone (2021) is certainly on the lower end of the totem pole, especially considering where its main antagonist ends up. A sequel of this sort is prone to falling into a plethora of traps, but luckily, Black Phone 2 (2025) not only justifies itself as a solid continuation from the first but is also a small step ahead of it in quality.
The sequel, like its predecessor, contains everything that worked before, such as ghostly phone calls and Super 8-filmed dream sequences. However, it expands upon these supernatural elements and the core characters in surprisingly creative and emotional ways within its refreshing wintry landscape. Of course, the film isn’t perfect, as the biggest issue lies in the excessive explanation of why the movie exists, but Black Phone 2 works well as a nice expansion of the original’s concepts.
Four years later, after Finney Blake (Mason Thames) killed The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), he’s now a moody teenager getting into fights and still reliving the trauma he endured in The Grabber’s basement, which feels like so long ago. Finney’s sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) has also come into her own since the first film, even forming a romance of sorts with Robin Arellano’s brother Ernesto (Miguel Mora).
It isn’t long, however, before Gwen starts having visions in her dreams. Yet again, seeing mortifying visions of three boys being murdered at a religious youth camp, called Alpine Lake, that is related to not only the grabber, but her late mom, Hope (Anna Lore). Now determined to solve this mystery, Gwen goes with Finney and Ernesto to the blizzard-trapped camp, where they’ll come to discover truths about themselves and the grabber that they never thought would be possible as the notorious killer thirsts for revenge.
From the get-go in Black Phone 2, the lore and depth behind these characters are expanded dramatically to explain their existence. Exposition to cover all the new rules of the grabber’s existence within dreams and Gwen being able to walk and experience memories while dreaming—it’s a ton of ground to cover, and admittedly, the film can get lost within itself trying to explain its world.
Luckily, the ghostly elements still work here because of the creativity behind the camera. Director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill made so much more of the grabber’s return than just creating a Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) or Insidious (2010) knock-off.
The main draw here remains the use of the Super 8 camera while filming the dream sequences, and they manage to be even more expansive than their use in the first film. It remains an effective use of capturing real-life and dream-world scenes, making everything much more surreal in tone and atmosphere. It’s never near the level of the obvious Freddy Krueger moments it’s inspired by, but there’s enough flavor to Gwen and Finney’s ghostly encounters that prevent them from being cheap imitations.
What further helps is the core of both films, which is the bond between this brother and sister. McGraw takes more of the lead role this time around as essentially the central key to ending the grabber’s reign of terror, and she absolutely nails it. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of her performance in the first film. What makes it all the more convincing is her bond with Finney as they come to terms with how his kidnapping four years ago changed each of their lives and how they’ve come to terms with facing their own insecurities since then.
Gwen constantly thinks her visions and dreams make her weird, and Finney is afraid he’ll be unable to protect her sister from danger now that they’re both growing up, but they’re able to bond with each other when it truly matters in a nice familial relationship. The similar blend of firm character drama within religious debate between characters at the camp is more refined than ever. The writing is never groundbreaking, but Thames and McGraw are impressive to the point where Black Phone 2 works better as a more emotionally driven character story rather than the terrifying scare fest it was advertised as—it’s a welcome surprise.
Black Phone 2 isn’t a perfect sequel, as it can struggle to carry its own weight with its lengthy explanations. However, it provides enough heart and creatively filmed sequences to stand alongside the first film as a flawed but solid genre picture. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the movies it’s inspired by, but there’s far worse to pick from when it comes to horror fare this Halloween season.
Review Courtesy of Joshua Mbonu
Feature Image Credit to Universal Pictures and Blumhouse via Empire Online