Brought to us by my favorite movie studio, Blumhouse, The Black Phone is a movie that I felt like I was waiting forever to check out! It was delayed a few times, but as soon as I saw the initial creepy-as-hell trailer, I knew it would be worth waiting for. The movie did not disappoint and I am so glad that I saw it on the big screen.
How to Download The Black Phone
Since this is a Universal Pictures release, you should be able to download or stream the film from Peacock TV 45 days after its theatrical release which happened on 24 June 2022. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability. Check out also other Blumhouse horror films, for example, Haloween Kills, The Forever Purge, or Us.
The Movie Review
The Black Phone is actually based on a short story that was written by Joe Hill back in 2004. The movie was directed by Scott Derrickson who along with C. Robert Cargill put together the script. These guys did Sinister together for Blumhouse, which is another incredible movie by the way!
This is a horror/thriller movie that really appealed to me and had me hooked pretty much right from the start. Set in the 70s, we have a brother and sister combo of Finney, played by Mason Thames, and Gwen who is played by Madeline McGraw. These kids are fantastic actors and truly make you believe what is happening is real.
They do not have the easiest of lives, not just because of bullies and the everyday hassle of being a kid, their dad is a drunk and not a nice man. However, it gets worse, there is a man called “The Grabber” that is snatching up kids from around the neighborhood, and kids and parents are on high alert.
As you can see in the trailers, Finney ends up being captured by The Grabber and imprisoned in his basement. It is a pretty terrifying scene to watch and Ethan Hawke as The Grabber is truly unsettling. You know, I think this may very well be my favorite Ethan Hawke performance of all time, he was that good!
Finney as you would expect is scared, but this is a brave kid. Plus, there is a mysterious phone in the place he is locked up, which the other victims of The Grabber are going to use to communicate with Finney. Plus, he has his sister working her butt off to try and figure out where he is and save him before it gets too late.
This movie truly is incredible! One thing that The Black Phone does incredibly well is offer us a “real” horror story of a child kidnapping mixed with supernatural elements. It works incredibly well and while other horror movies (including many from Blumhouse) have pulled this off, this is one of the best I have seen do it.
It is a movie that has you on the edge of your seat the whole time, there is one scene where it looks like Finney might actually get away and I was holding my breath the whole time he was trying to sneak out. Not many movies these days can have that kind of effect on me, but this one did!
The way the movie looks and the way the kid’s act is just incredible stuff indeed. I was really blown away by how talented the young actors were in this movie. Plus, Ethan Hawke is hidden behind a mask for a great deal of the movie, yet he still manages to showcase his emotions just with his eyes and the movement of his body.
To say that I loved The Black Phone is a massive understatement. This is the best horror I have seen in 2022, it is one of the best movies of the year in general and one of the best movies Blumhouse has produced. It is just such a great experience, so great that I think I may see if the wife wants to go and see this again!
