Last week, on Friday, October 17, 2025, a sequel to the very popular movie The Black Phone graced the cinemas for all to see. The original film, directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Ethan Hawke, tells the story of a young kid named Finney who is a child abductor. While captured, he discovers a mysterious black phone in his cell that allows him to communicate with the killer’s previous victims, who help him plot his escape. Alongside the “black” phone, Finney is also helped by his sister, Gwen, who possesses telepathic abilities, allowing her to have dreams and visions that also provide cryptic clues to save him. These dreams become vital in helping her brother, who eventually escapes. In contrast with the original, the new sequel follows Gwen instead of Finney, as he was the main focus in the previous one.
“As a fan of horror admittedly, I was a little disappointed with The Black Phone 2, It’s far from a bad movie, but aside from a few jumpscares, it doesnt offer much in terms of terror, the plot is simple but effective, the way it frames resilience, trauma, and the idea of the past literally speaking forewarf gives it more interest than a standard abdusction horror, at times the story could get pretty confusing, by the third act I was trying and failing to untangle too many seperate plot lines, if youre looking for a film with the same vibe as a Nightmare on Elm Street or Stephen Kings IT, The Black Phone 2 is a good choice, not perfect, not profound, but solidly creepy and definitely watchable,” said senior Lee Braden.
Without giving too many spoilers, I had the chance to see the movie upon its release. I had always been a fan of Scott Derrickson ever since I saw the first movie in theaters as well. His unique movie style and direction greatly improve the movie. The various film types integrated into the movie provide an eerie feeling, making it the pinnacle distinction between him and other filmmakers. The sequel encompasses this completely. As the movie plays, the style and film design get aggressively more visible. With the setting changing from a small neighborhood to a snowy camp far away in the mountains, the movie is eerily quiet and unsettling, tying into the horror movie trope. This eerie feeling is also aided by the sound design. From clips going from loud to silent to the incredible score by Atticus Derrickson, who is Scott Derrickson’s son.
“When I saw the movie, I was expecting it to be the same as the old one, but it was not, and it was kind of confusing. It was very good either way. I liked the plot and the way he used the camera to highlight the scary parts to make it more amusing,” said senior Kameron Dietrich.
The storyline in the sequel is also quite interesting. Instead of following Finney as stated before, the movie now focuses on Gwen and their late mother, who also possessed the same abilities as her. While focusing on Gwen, they also bring back old characters such as their dad and Ernesto, one of their classmates, whose brother was also grabbed by the grabber. The storyline mainly focuses on the Grabber returning to the place where it all started, where he first started his treacherous legacy of kidnapping and much worse. However, this time he is supernatural, haunting Finney and Gwen, and the camp, as he was killed in the first movie. He would now be getting his power from his previous victims rather than feeding on their fear physically.
Despite being a horror movie, the movie has some positive aspects as well. Ernesto and Gwen are having a newfound romance between each other despite Finney’s wishes. Alongside the romance side, the family aspect between them also improves as their dad has become a better guardian all around since the first movie, getting help and becoming a better person overall. But that’s not only the family aspect changing and growing in this movie. Gwen and Finney’s closure with their mom is also a major plot point, as she had the same abilities as Gwen. But how does their mom really fit into this scenario? The final major plot point is the fact that their mother was at the camp when the grabber first started, and then was onto him when he transferred to the neighborhood. This would later lead to her death, as he would kill her for finding out about him through her visions. It is later revealed that the Grabber killed their mom all along, despite what the children were told.
Overall, I’d give this movie a 10/10. I have nothing to say except it’s a fantastic movie and everyone should see it.
