Nerdly » ‘Black Phone 2’ Review

14th Oct2025

‘Black Phone 2’ Review

by Matthew Turner

Stars: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Demián Bichir, Ethan Hawke | Written by C. Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson, Joe Hill | Directed by Scott Derrickson

Director Scott Derrickson reunites with stars Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw and Ethan Hawke for Black Phone 2, an effective sequel to the 2021 horror. The original film was more of a serial killer chiller, but the sequel takes a necessarily different tack, given that Hawke’s character was killed off at the end of the previous film.

Black Phone 2 begins in 1982, a few years after the events of the first film. Survivor Finn (Thames), who killed devil-masked serial murderer The Grabber (Hawke) at the end of the original film is now understandably messed up and taking out his anger on his fellow high school students when he’s not getting wasted on marijuana. Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (McGraw) has started to experience strange dreams about ringing phones and has visions where she sees the ghosts of dead children, trapped under ice and carving out letters.

Driven by her visions, Gwen, Finn and Gwen’s would-be boyfriend Ernesto (Miguel Mora) travel to a remote frozen lake resort, where their dead mother used to work as a counsellor. Before long, it becomes clear that Gwen is being haunted by the vengeful ghost of The Grabber, and he is able to harm her in real life by hurting her in her dreams, Freddy Krueger-style.

The switch of genres works surprisingly well, giving the sequel a new lease of life, rather than an excuse to just do more of the same. It’s probably a coincidence, but it recalls Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 horror classic Cat People and its 1944 sequel Curse of the Cat People, which also became a ghost story because the lead character had died in the first film.

On a similar note, the change of location gives the sequel a markedly different feel, as well as enabling some thrilling set pieces on the frozen lake. Having said that, having The Grabber turn out to be really good at ice-skating was probably a step too far, despite setting it up in the script.

Elsewhere, Derrickson orchestrates a handful of chilling sequences, the highlight of which is an extended attack scene where The Grabber comes after Gwen in her dreams, and her still-sleeping body gets flung around the camp bedroom, terrifying both Finn and Ernesto. It’s an extremely tense scene, made scarier by the various wounds appearing on Gwen’s body as she sleeps, a nasty homage to Nightmare on Elm St.

The two leads are excellent, sparking convincing sibling chemistry together and delivering believably layered performances. There’s also strong support from Mora (who gets the occasional funny line) and from Demian Bichir as the kindly camp manager. As before, Ethan Hawke does a splendidly creepy job with The Grabber’s voice, but you have to wonder if it’s actually him under the costume, given that he almost never shows his face.

If there’s a problem with Black Phone 2, it’s mainly that it’s a little too exposition-heavy at times, coupled with the fact that a perpetually ringing phone never quite elicits the kind of tension or fear that the film is clearly aiming for. On top of that, Jeremy Davies (who always plays weirdos) is underwritten and poorly used as Finn and Gwen’s father – indeed, he is arguably completely miscast, as the connection between them doesn’t feel real and his lines make it seem like he stumbled onto the set from a different film.

Those minor gripes aside, Black Phone 2 is an enjoyable sequel that delivers the requisite chills and gives the franchise a new lease of life, even if the whole phone thing is a bit rubbish.