“Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who’s being held in a soundproof basement by a sadistic, masked killer. When a disconnected phone on the wall starts to ring, he soon discovers that he can hear the voices of the murderer’s previous victims — and they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.” (Google synapse description of The Black Phone)

There are countless thriller-kidnapping movies out there, including Split in 2016, The Call in 2013, and many other. The 2021 film The Black Phone directed by Scott Derrickson however, twists the normal perception of these films. Thriller, scary, horror, suspenseful, are just a few words to describe. 

Suspenseful movies are my favorite genre, and I believe that The Black Phone represents this genre very well. With some subtle jump scares that keep you watching really adds to the amount of scary with real time events.

Most “scary”, or “horror” movies make you think of a demonic creature or presence that is haunting someone or people. With kidnapping movies like this, it has more of a natural, real feel that makes the viewer uneasy while watching. But, there are main unrealistic factors that create the main plot which is crucial in making this film different from others.

The name of the film is the main point of the plot. The black phone sits on the back wall of the basement where “The Grabber” keeps his victims. We don’t realize the significance until it starts ringing for the main character, Finney Blake, even though it was disconnected. This brings out a supernatural feel of the film, which makes this film different from the rest. 

Finney encounters multiple phone calls with previous victims of the Grabber, to help in his escape. I liked this idea of using previous victims to aid in escape because I haven’t seen this in other movies I have seen.

Ethan Hawke, who depicts a masked serial killer, “The Grabber” in this film, does a great job portraying a character that has evil tendencies. Along with his impeccable experience in the acting world, the directing of Scott Derickkson truly brings his character to life. 

Best known for the directing of 2012 Sinister, and two Doctor Strange movies, Derrickson has had the experience with producing popular and well-rated movies. In the Black Phone, I believe the level of gore was moderate, with only a few scenes of blood and killing. The only real issue with the directing and writing piece of the film was the special effects. With already limited special effects shown, they were not done very well. A spinning, floating body and glass bottles being shot toward the wall were the only extreme special effects that were noticeable. Other than that, the decisions made for the writing and directing were very well done.

Some of the acting shown in this film by the younger characters could have been better by changing certain dialogue within the characters to depict them better throughout the movie. Overall though, the acting and casting decisions in this movie really helped bring out the plot. 

We don’t find out who “The Grabber” truly is, but we find out some of his past experiences, especially with the phone, which can leave the viewer to predict why he decided to kidnap children. There are hints throughout the movie which give more of the mystery feel.

Overall, The Black Phone was a gripping story that made me want to watch it again after leaving the movie theater. Being rated 82% on rotten tomatoes is definitely correct in my opinion based on the structure and decisions for the movie.