Review: Black Phone 2
Ethan Hawke returns in Scott Derrickson's horror sequel, along with Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw, to fight The Grabber in the Universal chiller.
Set in 1982, four years after the events of The Black Phone (2021), the story takes place in a snowy Christian holiday camp in rural Colorado, with the same characters and narrative focus as the first film.
The film relies on the unsettling menace of a child killer and a beyond-the-grave plotline, augmented with special effects, but proves to be an exercise in diminishing returns.
It remains a superficial exercise in creepy fun, but retreading familiar ground lacks the impact of the original.
Black Phone 2, which premiered at Fantastic Fest, will be released globally from October 15.
Author's summary: A horror sequel with diminishing returns.