The Black Phone 2, released on October 17, 2025, directed by Scott Derrickson, is an intense deep dive into the prequel to The Black Phone. Starring Ethan Hawke as the Grabber, Mason Thames as Finney Blake, Madeleine McGraw as Gwen Blake, and Jeremy Davies as the father Terrence.
This sequel is more of a bloody slasher than the first movie, which was more of a mystery and thriller, and less of a gory film.
[Spoiler Alert]
The movie began with a heated fight scene with the main character, Finney, showing the kid not to mess with him. During this scene, we get our first look at the new Finney Blake. This fight scene is a throwback to the first movie, where it started with a bully beating up Finny in the school yard, but now the roles are reversed, and Finney is the one doing the beating. This is a great nod back to the first movie, showing his character development, mainly showing how his personality has changed throughout the years.
In the same scene, we see his younger sister, Gwen Blake, for the first time in the film. Like Finney, she has changed less personality-wise and more looks, showing a contrast between her and Finney. She is now older and has cut her hair. This change in Gwen’s character, of cutting off her hair symbolizes a fresh start for her. After this scene, we learn that Finn has gained a lot of attention from his ordeal with the Grabber. Later, we meet a new character named Ernesto Arellano, who is Robbin Arellano’s little brother. We see him striking up a conversation with Gwen while she and Finney are walking into school.
As the story progresses, Gwen has more of her strange dreams with them taking her and Finney to Camp Alpine Lake, which is the same camp their mother attended in her youth. This is our first look into the kids’ mom and who she was. On their way a huge snowstorm hits, which makes it hard to get to the campgrounds. This cold blizzard sets the tone of the movie, providing a perfect setting for the context of what happens in the film. During this part of the movie, we are introduced to Armando, the camp owner, and Mustang, his daughter. At camp, Finney sees a telephone booth on the edge of the frozen lake. Eventually, the phone Finn saw rang so he answered it with the thought to be dead Grabber being on the other end. This is where the plot thickens and gives a nice connection to the setting of the movie, with the Grabber telling Finney that “hell is not flames, it’s ice”. With the Grabber saying this, it really just pulls things together nicely with the cold representing death, the snowstorm they are all in, and the overall discomfort of a cold temperature rather than a warm one. As we get towards the end of the movie, the plot unfolds nicely, giving us details we didn’t even know we needed, like why the Grabber is doing this, how he himself has changed from the first movie.
The Black Phone 2 is a great resolution to the first movie, while also being a fine film itself. With the vibe switch adding a more bloody story starting away from the more suspenseful kidnapping story. This added gore displays a different kind of horror giving a visual shock instead of the creeping metal one.
The movie concludes with the finding of the Grabber’s original victims’ bodies and the truth about the Blake’s mom, with her being taken by the same man who started everything, coming to a full circle moment. The kids get justice for their mom and the other victims, and the evil is finally dead. I rate this film a 7.5 out of 10, not a bad watch, and I would recommend it.
