6/24/2022 – R  – 1h 42m – Universal Pictures

Alan: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Michelle: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Black Phone is classified as “Horror/Thriller” and it is. But it is also a mystery/detective story. And it is an adolescent revenge power fantasy. 

Boys in town have been disappearing. Finney Shaw, a bright 13 year old baseball pitcher who is bullied at school, is the latest victim. Finn is imprisoned in an underground, sound proof prison cell where a disconnected black phone mysteriously begins to ring. On the other end are the kidnapper’s previous victims who give Finn clues on how to escape.

Michelle: The story is well paced. It starts drawing a portrait of the town, the children at school and at baseball games, and Finn’s family. We learn Finn is bullied at school and at home by his alcoholic single father. Then a kid is snatched. And just as the story gets sleepy, Finn gets taken.  

Alan: The setup is excellent. Finn is very likable, but he lacks confidence and bullies target him. He shares a tight bond with his sister over their abusive father and death of their mother. There were a lot of well done jump scares, but in general the ghosts weren’t “scary”.

Michelle: Different characters such as Finn’s sister and father and the police detectives add dimension to the story.The sister helping to find Finn by sharing her dreams with the police contributes another supernatural psychic element to the story. 

Alan: The movie is based on a story by Joe Hill — Stephen King’s son. It has supernatural elements. There are hints that the mother was psychic and something went… wrong. The father drinks because of those events and because he is afraid his daughter will turn out the same. Finn may be able to talk to the dead because of his own psychic abilities and it is hinted that the kidnapper may even have some psychic ability. The kidnapper has obviously gone wrong as well too. I think there is probably space there for a sequel.

Michelle: I enjoyed The Black Phone more than I expected. Watching the detectives and sister try to solve the mystery of where Finn is and watching Finn cleverly work to escape with a good payoff at the end made The Black Phone a very satisfying movie. Five stars.

Alan: It was masterfully told. You know the hints from the dead are going to come together in some way to help Finn escape, but I wasn’t able to guess the final configuration. It was a very satisfying journey combined with a very satisfying ending. I also give it five stars.