REVIEW: BLACK PHONE 2 (2025)

 By Stephen Pytak

This is an okey-dokey sequel to The Black Phone (2021).

But it can be viewed as an interesting remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). 

Black Phone 2 (2025) is kind of fun I suppose, if you're just going out to see something spooky on an October night. 

It's a dark and gritty flick about a child murderer who has somehow come back from the dead. And "The Grabber" has a great look! That mask is iconic. The story is set at a camp buried in tons of snow. The filmmaking isn't bad. The film is permeated by a feeling of dread. And there are some really cool moments. Not every set up works. But some do.

After seeing the film, I wondered how hard-core horror fans would react. 

Will it be celebrated for its homages to another classic horror film? Will it be criticized for its lack of originality? Would the fans be irked by its creative - or not so creative - choices?

Honestly, I was hoping for something a little more original. I think "The Grabber" could become a great cinematic villain.

But the script for his second outing didn't do him any favors.

Black Phone 2 (2025) is nowhere near as good as The Black Phone (2021). 

I didn't see The Black Phone (2021) when it was released. Actually, I didn't take that much of an interest in it until I saw the trailer for the sequel earlier this year.

Something about the concept of the sequel fascinated me.

"Wow!" I thought. "This is really going to go into the realm of the supernatural. How is this going to work?"

It wasn't a new idea. We've seen this a number of times, the sequel in which a mass murderer has somehow returned from the dead, bigger and badder and with otherworldly powers to boot.

A few I can think of include Boogeyman II (1983), Slumber Party Massacre II (1987), Terrifier 2 (2022) and of course all things Fred Krueger.

I decided to watch The Black Phone (2021) before going to see part two. 

Glad I did. It helps if you do that, so you know who's who and so forth.

The main antagonist is a man in an egg-shell white grinning devil mask who for whatever reason enjoys kidnapping and torturing children. 

The mask was designed by Tom Savini at Callosum Studios, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to the IMDb. It's the most interesting thing the make-up legend has done in some time.

The killer's nickname is "The Grabber" and he is played by Ethan Hawke, who is brilliant in the role. 

His latest catch is 13-year-old "Finney (Mason Thames)." Once locked in the cellar, Finn notices there is a black rotary phone on the wall. The killer tells him it doesn't work. But soon it starts to ring and the ghosts of the killer's victims call the boy to chat.

Based on a short story by Joe Hill, it takes place in 1978 in North Denver, Colo. A mean-spirited affair, it's filled with dysfunctional characters. And some of them deal with stuff Scully and Mulder no doubt have files on.

For example, Finn's sister, "Gwen (Madeleine McGraw)" has visions, breadcrumbs from the beyond which help authorities locate the killer.

The killer is downright interesting. He has a cool look and Hawke delivers a performance that's very menacing and very watchable. Actually, all the performances are pretty good.

I liked this film a lot actually. It's something of a classic. And I'm going to give it four and a half stars out of five. 

Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke in "Black Phone 2 (2025)." Copyright Blumhouse 2025.

So, I saw Black Phone 2 (2025) on opening day, first day, first show. I was amused by the black phone popcorn vessels for sale in the lobby, but didn't buy one.

Scott Derrickson returned to direct. He does a pretty good job for the most part.

In general, the script is problematic. There are some good ideas here and there. But I found that if I thought too much about every story beat I started to get annoyed. Logic isn't one of the film's strong points.

The film works best if you take it at face value. This is what the trailer promised. And this is what you get:

The psychic "Gwen" has visions of dead children calling out for help. Her investigation leads to a winter camp called "Alpine Lake." She and "Finney" head up there and soon learn the vengeful spirit of "The Grabber" is waiting for them.

One of the things I really liked about the film was the look of it, the way it was shot and edited. Derrickson uses different shooting styles to present the characters in their waking hours and the scenes when they are being stalked.

At times it feels like a grindhouse film, something that was made back in the day on 16mm and ravaged by time. Sometimes the shots are grainy. Sometimes it appears as if the projector bulb is burning through the celluloid. 

Sometimes fancy editing techniques can be distracting. I guess it depends who's doing them. For example, I wasn't crazy about 28 Years Later (2025) because the editing and cutting took me out of it. I was constantly reminded I was watching someone's film. It didn't feel organic, real.

I think the creative choices made in the editing room should, somehow, capture the imagination of the viewer and draw them in.

Black Phone 2 (2025) does this pretty well.

I like the film's setting, the Christian camp buried in the snow. Seeing "The Grabber" emerge from dark corridors is wonderfully chilling.

And I really like the score by Atticus Derrickson. 

But what this film will probably be remembered for is how many plot elements it borrowed from the universe spawned by Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). 

If you're a fan of the Freddy films, you'll see that all the tropes are there:

-- Child murderer has come back from the dead to get revenge on the people he hates the most. Check.

-- The spirits of the killer's victims, somehow, give him the supernatural energy to cheat death and walk the earth. Check.

-- The killer can invade the dreams of his victims and physically hurt them in the process. Check.

Honestly, when I saw the trailer for this, I got the impression the story was going to borrow a few ideas from Craven's masterpiece. But I didn't expect it to take so much from the world of Freddy.

Will anyone care?

Not sure.

Some hardcore fans of the Elm Street movies might be intrigued. Some might be annoyed.

It's been a while since we've seen Freddy Krueger in anything. I mean, there was Freddy vs. Jason (2003), which wasn't that great. And there was the remake, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), which had a really good actor step into the lead role - Jackie Earle Haley - but unfortunately it wasn't a great film either.

So what's wrong with "The Grabber" taking some of Freddy's mojo?

Nothing, I suppose.

I mean, some of it works pretty well. What sets it apart from your average Elm Street movie is the style Derrickson employed. It's not a brightly lit film. It's a grainy experimental flick which has a found-footage vibe.

It's a lot better than some of the Elm Street sequels. I'll take it over Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) any day.

RATING (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3.5.