The Black Phone (2021) - Movie Review
What do you get when the director behind Sinister and Doctor Strange sets out to adapt a Joe Hill story to film?
One of the best movies I’ve seen this year, that’s what.
Let’s discuss.
The Black Phone is a horror/thriller brought to us by writer / director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill based on the short story by Stephen King progeny, Joe Hill. I haven’t read the short story, but I’ve read much of Hill’s work and I think this film may be the best reflection of how Hill’s stories look in my head. It’s incredible how the film provides the same sense of dread of reading one of Hill’s novels.
H.P. Lovecraft said something to the effect that the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown and that’s what this film embodies. The ad campaign for the film was all smoke and mirrors. Ethan Hawke has top billing, his masked face is the movie poster, and yet this is not his film.
This is a coming of age film. Part of growing up is the horror of metamorphosis, the act of growing older and being cognizant of it. Unlike a baby growing to adolescence, teenagers feel every nightmarish change in real-time and often carry the scars of said transformation into their adult lives.
This is perfectly presented through the eyes of Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw as our protagonists, Finney and Gwen. A brother and sister who not only have to deal with their alcoholic father and bullies, but an active serial killer in their midst. These two child actors elevate this film and present two sides to the coin of children of alcoholics.
Speaking from experience, as the child of an alcoholic and the brother of a sister who never recovered from that trauma. This film’s depiction of the realities of that type of existence is brutally real. Not necessarily the beatings, as that was not something I witnessed growing up—but the intellectual terror and resentment that alters your perception. Most children of alcoholics go one of two ways. They either retreat into themselves Ala Finney or they act out, letting their anger and discontent be the flag across their bow. It’s two different means of crying out for help, but as shown in the movie—most often, no one cares to notice.
Except for a predator quickly consuming their school’s population.
The film focuses on the terror presented by the Grabber. A serial killer with a taste for young boys and a flare for the dramatic. We don’t see much of the grotesque details of his crimes, nor do we see much of the gore, but we see the worst consequence of his acts of depravity. We see the impact on the victims’ families, their community, and the world at large. We see the breadth of a child’s short life, their impact, the joy they brought and the sadness their death brings. These images are powerfully presented through a Wonder Years intro credit—home movie lens.
It’s something often overlooked in horror films and true crime documentaries. The true horror of terrible acts are not in the tides of blood, but the emotional baggage left in their wake.
And while Ethan Hawke is not the true star of this film, he provides one of the most chilling and accurate portrayals of a child predator ever put to film. Obviously based on John Wayne Gacy, Hawke makes the character his own and even though his face is hidden behind an ever evolving mask, his vocal intonations reveal much about the broken mind of the antagonist and the ever present menage therein. Sparingly scene, you’re always afraid of his approach. The fact that he’s so often off screen lends to the incredible tension most all scenes provide.
Then again, I’m also biased. Ethan Hawke is my favorite actor of all time.
But that’s neither here, nor there.
This is an incredible movie on par with the greats like The Silence of the Lambs and The Changeling.
Again, as this is a fantastic film and probably the best movie I’ve seen all year, I will not be doing spoilers.
You need to watch this movie.
It’s free to stream of Peacock currently… get a free trial and watch this movie.
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Why are you still here?
Go watch the damn movie.
