Child abduction/abuse is probably the last taboo in horror films. If you’re going to make a movie about this already icky issue, you might want to tread lightly. With The Black Phone, director Scott (Doctor Strange) Derrickson does a pretty good job navigating the subject matter, all things considered, and along the way delivers a damned fine supernatural suspense story.
A small suburb is rocked by a series of kidnappings by a skeevy killer the locals have dubbed “The Grabber” (Ethan Hawke). This masked maniac snatches up a young boy named Finn (Mason Thames) and keeps him locked in a dank basement with only a broken phone to keep him company. Eventually, Finn discovers he can use the phone to talk to the Grabber’s past victims, who help him devise an escape plan.
The supernatural aspects don’t really come into play until the second half, and work surprisingly well, given the fact that the first half is so grounded in reality. The film is based on a short story by Joe Hill (the son of Stephen King), and like many of his old man’s stories, there’s a subplot about a psychic (in this case, the kid’s sister, played by Madeleine McGraw, who is excellent). Even this supernatural touch is handled better than expected and doesn’t detract from the immediacy and urgency of Finn’s desperate situation.
It also helps that Ethan Hawke underplays the menace of the Grabber. What makes it work so well is that we don’t see very much of him, so when he does appear, it leaves an impression. Even when he is on screen, he wears his mask about 98% of the time, which keeps up the air of mystery of the character. Derrickson wisely leaves a lot of the general unpleasantness of his past victims up to the imagination, and stages a heck of a finale when Finn faces down his captor for the last time.
The Black Phone is a low key and effective chiller. It’s much better than Derrickson and Hawke’s previous collaboration, the overrated Sinister. This is one horror flick that will definitely grab you and won’t let go.
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