Four years after Finney survived his encounter with the Grabber, it appears that the serial killer has returned to get his revenge. The problem is he’s a ghost, who can now invade dreams and have real world consequences. Even worse he’s set his sights on Finney’s sister Gwen, to get his perfect revenge.

Black Phone 2

Directed By Scott Derrickson

Written By C. Robert Cargill & Scott Derrickson

Characters Created By Joe Hill

Starring Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, & Miguel Mora

Blumhouse Productions

Synopsis:

The year is 1982, and we pick up with Finney & Gwen four years after the Grabber kidnapped Finney. To escape Finney had to kill the Grabber, but since that day he has suffered with what happened to him. His sister Gwen starts to have visions in her dreams again. This time they take place in the past at a winter Christian Camp named Alpine Lake. This camp has a grizzly history, as three young boys were murdered there years ago. As Gwen works through her dreams and the clues, her dreams get invaded by the Grabber, who wants revenge for his death. Now, Finney, Gwen, and Ernesto must figure out the mysteries of Alpine Lake, before the Grabber can kill them all.

***MINOR SPOILERS POSSIBLE***

PROS:

There is a lot to like about this highly anticipated sequel. The human element and showing the devastating aftermath of the events of the first movie on Finney, Gwen, and their dad. This makes the movie have a “real” feel to it, because if these events happened in real life there would be a toll taken on anyone’s mentality. This also moves the story forward as it shows how Finney becomes withdrawn; well Gwen keeps her helping ways.

The gore and violence in this film ups the ante from the first film and is shot and portrayed well. The cinematography in this film is really good, with some amazing choices by Director of Photography Pär M. Ekberg. The way the dream sequences were shot using an old, granulated film effect, kept the aesthetic, well making it easy to tell when Gwen was sleeping.

The uncovering of the backstory, including making the mother a bigger part of the story pays off. The search and travel to Alpine Lake makes more sense when you add in that their mom was a counselor there when she was younger. This also helps with showing the ties between Hope and Gwen’s shared powers of premonition and how their headstrong ways get them in trouble.

Lastly, you have the twist and turns the movie takes you on. Going back to the past and having the mom’s abilities explained sets up finding out things we didn’t know. When we see that Hope worked at the camp, and that the murders there may be the first murders of the Grabber, sets the table for the rest of the adventure. Then, when you get to the big twist reveal, it is a huge punch to the gut, and super effective.

CONS:

One of the first cons that comes to mind is pacing early in the movie. The movie starts out a tad bit slow, with some things that are brought up not really being important to the story. Although personally this didn’t affect me as badly, as it was just catching up on where we are four years after the events of the first movie. However, I could see where others would feel like this slow part is unnecessary and drags the pace down of the movie down.

The only other issue in my opinion was the love story between Gwen and Ernesto. It kind of feels forced just to have it there and it really doesn’t add anything to the overall story. If you took that sub-plot out, no one would even know it’s not there. If something can be removed with no effect to the story, it means it has no real value. Once again this did not take me out of the movie, but I could see how it may bother others and should be noted.

Check Out the Trailer for Black Phone 2 Here

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall, Black Phone 2 was a very good sequel that has you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. The horror, gore, violence, and suspense all deliver and do what they need to do. But the biggest winner is definitely the reveal of a deeper story, with an amazing shock revelation in the third act. If you liked the first movie, you are going to like this follow-up film. If you haven’t seen Black Phone, this movie will still be a hit for you, but you may miss some of the nuances in the story.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10

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