BLACK PHONE 2 (2025) ****

Lots of films set in the ‘80s get many details of the era wrong.  In Black Phone 2, there’s a scene where a character talks about buying Duran Duran tickets and another where our hero stays up late to watch Night Flight on TV, all within the first five minutes of the movie.  I’d say the filmmakers nailed the ‘80s experience. 

Finn (Mason Thames) survived The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and now he is trying to survive high school.  Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins having psychic dreams of kids being murdered at a snowy wilderness camp.  Together, they go to the camp to investigate and learn that the dead Grabber is trying to get to Gwen in her dreams.  The only way to stop him is to find the bodies of the slain children and finally put their souls to rest. 

I was surprised how much I liked Black Phone 2.  In fact, I enjoyed it more than the first one.  Returning director Scott Derrickson does a cool technique of upping the film grain during the dream scenes, which kinda makes them feel less like a dream and more like a movie from the ‘80s.  Many times, the film feels like a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel set at Friday the 13th’s Camp Crystal Lake in the dead of winter.  Plus, there’s a cool visual nod to the ‘80s slasher Curtains tossed in there for good measure 

So many sequels are content to repeat the same notes that made their predecessors a hit, so it’s refreshing to see one that pushes the mythology forward into unexpected directions.  Sure, some of those directions feel like a pastiche of other horror classics, but it’s an entertaining and atmospheric pastiche.  This is easily one of the best and most inventive horror sequels I’ve seen in some time.  Also, some of the gore and make-up on the mutilated kids is downright gnarly. 

Hawke does a fantastic job once again, especially considering 1) He’s always seen wearing a mask and/or gruesome make-up and 2) He’s offscreen for much of the picture.  However, his presence is still felt even when he isn’t on screen.  He’s in the characters’ heads, casting a shadow over their psyche.  The other performances are equally fine.  Thames and McGraw are quite good too, and Demian Bichir does some nice work as the owner of the camp.