Film Review: Black Phone 2 (2025)
Release date: October 17, 2025; Director: Scott Derrickson; Stars: Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke, Madeleine McGraw; Based on the short story The Black Phone by Joe Hill (20th Century Ghosts, 2005)
In Scott Derrickson’s sequel to Black Phone (2021), based on the short story by Joe Hill, we learn that hell is a place where everything is frozen and cold as ice. Black Phone 2 (2025) showcases the stars from the prequel, Finn (played by Mason Thames) and his little sister Gwen (played by Madeleine McGraw) who are now teenagers and are revisited by their past trauma. Gwen’s dreams are the focus of the film and take her and others to a youth camp in the Colorado Rockies called Alpine Lake where they are visited by the ghosts of some other boys who have also suffered at the hands of the Grabber (played by Ethan Hawke). In the midst of a brutal snow storm, they must come together to fight and defeat the Grabber once again.
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In watching Black Phone 2, I found that the significance of dream versus reality mattered most in the continuation of this story. Generally, dreams and reality coincide and the boundaries can be easily blurred. A dream can reveal the truth about reality. In this film, through her dreams, Gwen learns where the boys’ bodies are located and the truth behind her mother’s death. The types of film used in the dream sequences are a combination of super 8 and super 16 millimeter films. When the scenes change to the grainy-like quality of film which the super 8 and super 16 produce, we know Gwen and other characters are in the dream realm. This experimentation in the use of different types of film really works in establishing the clear difference between reality and dream. It also adds to the movie’s unique set of special effects which makes for great production and entertainment.
Speaking of entertainment, Black Phone 2 is a spectacular horror film jam packed with some frightening elements. The use of sound, especially in the ringing of the phone, builds the fear of what’s to come. In this film, it is not just Finn who hears the phone ringing, but Gwen does as well. For Finn it’s the boys and the Grabber on the other end. For Gwen it’s the boys and her mother, Hope (played by Anna Lore), communicating with her from the other side. The costumes and makeup are equally awesome and gruesome at the same time. The Grabber dons his same devilish masks that he is able to hold onto in the afterlife. The addition of the frost on his masks pairs well with the idea of hell being a frozen place. Isolation contributes to building the horror and this is found every time Gwen dreams. She is always alone navigating through the spaces we have seen in the prequel and new places in this sequel. In one dream scene, we follow Gwen as she follows Hope in a moment from the past. This is where Gwen learns that Hope did not commit suicide, but was murdered by the Grabber. But before Hope’s death, she has discovered where the first kidnapped and murdered victim of the Grabber was located. Also in this scene, Gwen bravely takes a ride with the Grabber in his infamous black van where he reveals to her how he murdered Hope and staged her body. What also makes this dream scene as well as others eerily, creepy is the moments of silence, the fog and how realistic they appear to be.
Some of the action and special effects in Black Phone 2 is done quite well. There is one scene in the kitchen where the Grabber is only visible to Gwen who is dreaming, yet she is visible to others in the scene. The Grabber grabs Gwen and literally throws her around in an attempt to kill her. The way in which Gwen is being slung around by an invisible force is something unbelievable for reality, yet the special effects at work here exhibits some great action. Another one of my favorite scenes applies some awesome special effects. Gwen is trapped in the phone booth during a dream scene and the Grabber wraps the phone cord tightly around her and lets go of it. She goes spinning like a top and bleeds not only in the dream, but in her sleep in reality. I enjoyed Black Phone 2 just as much as I did the first one. Hill wrote an incredible horror story and Derrickson did a great job bringing this sequel to screen.
