{"id":141882,"date":"2022-07-21T08:25:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T22:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=141882"},"modified":"2022-07-18T13:30:19","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T03:30:19","slug":"the-black-phone-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-black-phone-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Black Phone – movie review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver 1978. 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames) is a school kid who is a decent baseball pitcher. It looks like he is about to strike out big hitter Bruce (Tristan Pravong), but after two strikes Bruce goes all the way. Clearly happy with himself, while riding his bike home a black van looms ominously and Bruce disappears. He\u2019s not the first to vanish and a police manhunt has come up empty. More \u201csnatchings\u201d will follow.<\/p>\n

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The cops call on Finney\u2019s straight talking sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) because they hear she has been having \u201cvisions\u201d about black balloons found at the scene. Gwen \u2013 like her mother before her, who took her own life \u2013 sees things. There is truth in her dreams.\u00a0 Problem is her father (Jeremy Davies) tries to beat that out of her, because he doesn\u2019t want her to follow in her mother\u2019s footsteps. A heavy drinker, both Gwen and Finney are scared of their dad, who treats them shamefully, even though he says he loves them. Further, Finney is someone picked on at school and he would rather be pummeled than stand up for himself.<\/p>\n

And then, he too is \u201ccaptured\u201d by the man known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). The Grabber locks Finney into a soundproof home basement, entry to which is through a heavy steel door. He wears a mask over his mouth and another (with horns) over his eyes and says he won\u2019t harm Finney if he cooperates. In the room is a mattress and an old black phone on the wall. It was disconnected long ago and yet that phone rings continually. On the other end are the voices of The Grabber\u2019s other victims.<\/p>\n

Written (with Robert Cargill) and directed by Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone is based on a short story by Joe Hill.\u00a0 Derrickson and Cargill also collaborated on the horror mystery thriller Sinister in 2012 and Doctor Strange in 2016.<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, a dark pall hangs over the film. Some of the physical violence \u2013 beatings and strapping \u2013 is particularly disturbing. So is the premise of child abductions and worse. Creepy music from Mark Koven gives the movie an appropriate edge.<\/p>\n