The Black Phone (2021) Review: A Deadly Kidnapper Faces Help From His Own Victims

 

The Black Phone | 2021 | 1h 43m
Genre: Psychological Horror/Supernatural Horror/Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Country: US
Director: Scott Derrickson
Writers: Joe Hill, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke
IMDb: 6.9
My Rating: 9/10

Trapped inside a basement and desperate to escape, Finney begins receiving calls from the spirits of previous victims who try to help him survive.

Warning:

Contains scenes of violence, strong language, drugs, alcohol, and smoking.

 

What if the only person who can help a kidnapped child escape is someone who is already dead?

That is what immediately made The Black Phone (2021) interesting to me. The film begins as a story about a child who is kidnapped by a dangerous man, but it gradually becomes something more unusual when a disconnected telephone in a basement starts ringing. From there, Finney is no longer completely alone. The spirits of previous victims begin calling him and trying to help him survive.

Kidnappings have been happening around North Denver, Colorado. The kidnapper, known as The Grabber, targets young boys and leaves a black balloon behind as his signature. One of his victims is Bruce, whom Finney (Mason Thames) previously faced in a baseball game. Another is Robin, Finney's close friend who has always protected him from bullies.

The disappearances become a major concern in the neighborhood. Finney's younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), also becomes important to the investigation because she has a strange ability to receive clues through her dreams.

The police learn that Gwen has seen a black balloon in one of her dreams, even though that detail has never been made public. They approach her for information, but this only makes her father angry.

Gwen and Finney live with their father, who is abusive and struggles with alcohol after the death of their mother, who died by suicide. Their mother had a similar ability to Gwen, and the dreams she experienced eventually made her appear mentally unstable.

Because of what happened to his wife, their father tries to convince Gwen that her ability is not real. He is afraid that she will end up like her mother.

Then The Grabber kidnaps Finney.

He is taken to a basement and held captive inside a house. Finney feels completely helpless, until the old black telephone in the basement suddenly rings.

The strange thing is that the telephone should not work. Its cable has been disconnected.

Yet Finney answers it.

On the other end are the spirits of the previous victims.

They begin telling Finney what they know, warning him about The Grabber and giving him clues that may help him escape.

Meanwhile, Gwen realizes that her brother has been kidnapped and tries to use her dreams to find him. She asks her father to let her investigate and eventually receives several clues about Finney's location.

But finding him is not as simple as she hopes.

Will Gwen manage to find her brother alive?

What I like about The Black Phone is that the basic idea is simple, but it is developed into something much more interesting. The film is inspired by Joe Hill's short story of the same name, and turning a relatively short story into a feature-length film could easily have made the plot feel stretched. Instead, I think the film manages to build a story that remains engaging.

The camera movement, cinematography, color composition, music, and sound effects are all handled very well. Since the story takes place in the 1970s, the makeup and wardrobe also do a good job of creating the atmosphere of that period.

The performances are also quite good. The actors feel natural and do not seem stiff, which is especially important because much of the film depends on young characters carrying emotionally intense scenes.

I also think the story itself is structured quite well. The setup, development of the conflict, and eventual resolution are all presented clearly. The tension continues to build, and several twists make the story even more interesting.

Still, there are some things that I think could have been developed further.

The purpose behind the kidnappings is never explained clearly enough to me. We also do not really understand exactly what The Grabber does to his victims or how they eventually die.

I think his background could also have been explored more. What made him become The Grabber? Was there a trauma or another reason behind his behavior? Even a little more information about his past might have made the character more convincing.

I also wondered about the origin of the telephone itself. Why is that particular phone in the basement, and how does it become the medium connecting Finney with the dead victims? The mystery surrounding it is part of the film's appeal, but I still think a little more explanation would have been helpful.

Another part that I find interesting is Gwen and Finney's unusual abilities. We are told briefly about how their mother experienced something similar, but I think the film could have shown more of this history.

Doing so might have helped me understand their father's behavior better. His reaction sometimes seems extreme, but it is also clear that he has been deeply affected by what happened to his wife. A fuller look at their mother's experiences might have made his fear of Gwen's abilities feel more understandable.

Even with those unanswered questions, the film remains impressive to me.

One scene that really stayed with me happens after Finney loses the friend who always protected him and is bullied again. Gwen sees what is happening and immediately attacks the bullies with a rock without thinking twice.

She manages to injure one of them, but she is hurt as well.

I really like this scene because Gwen does not stop to calculate whether she will win. She simply sees someone she loves being hurt and reacts.

For me, that shows how the desire to protect someone can bring out courage that we do not even realize we have.

Sometimes we may think that courage means not being afraid. But Gwen is not fearless. She simply cares about her brother more than she cares about protecting herself in that moment.

The dialogue, “This is the last call. It's all you from here on out,” also feels meaningful because it marks the point where Finney can no longer rely on someone else to save him. The spirits can give him advice, but eventually, he has to make the decisions himself.

I think that is one of the strongest parts of the story.

Even when people help us, there are moments when we still have to face something on our own.

The film also made me think about how the people around us can sometimes give us strength without realizing it. Finney is physically trapped, but the memories and experiences of the victims who came before him become a source of knowledge. Gwen, meanwhile, refuses to simply accept that her brother is gone.

Both of them continue fighting in different ways.

That is probably why The Black Phone (2021) leaves more of an impression on me than a simple kidnapping horror story. Beneath the supernatural elements, there is also a story about fear, courage, family, and the instinct to protect the people we love.

Overall, I think The Black Phone (2021) is a very impressive horror film and one that I would happily watch again. The atmosphere, performances, tension, and supernatural mystery come together well, even though some aspects of The Grabber's background, the victims' deaths, and the mysterious telephone could have been explained more clearly.

What stayed with me most is the way the film shows that courage can appear when someone we love is in danger.

Perhaps that is something we can recognize in our own lives too: when the people we love need us, do we really know how brave we can become until the moment comes when we have no choice but to act?

(Aluna Uwie)

Previously published on Alunauwie.com.

"This article was originally written in Indonesian and has been adapted into English for international readers."