Black Phone 2 (2025) Dir: Scott Derrickson

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This sequel to the underrated 2021 supernatural horror film 'The Black Phone', based on a story by Joe Hill, son of the King of horror himself; Stephen King, had intrigued me a lot, thanks to some good teaser trailers in the run-up to its Halloween season release. Directed by Scott Derrickson, it may not have been a sequel I'd have expected to see, but I wasn't that mad about it existing, albeit that did depend a little on the quality of it.

More than the first one, I appreciated the visuals of this film a good deal. The use of the phone crackling sound was so effective. It made me lean in and pay attention to what was happening. This too can be attributed to the stronger than I had anticipated sense of suspense I felt throughout much of this film. This level of tension was pretty well orchestrated throughout the film too - no, the film wasn't terrifying, but it unveiled its mystery well.

I love how atmospheric these two films have been. I think Scott Derrickson has done a very good job of creating a very unique blend of dread and mystery into these two films. They feel like the scary bedtime stories you heard before you went to sleep at night as a child, but with an even darker, more adult, twist. I think the isolated winter setting helped establish an even more spooky feel to the film, as well as providing some unnerving visuals.

Often sequels struggle to tell either a compelling or necessary story that links well enough to its predecessor without feeling forced or ham-fisted, but I thought this one was comfortably as enjoyable as the first had been. The film did suffer with some pacing issues, particularly towards the beginning, but by the time the film found its footing, I was truly engrossed and invested in the growing mystery and horror of Finney and Gwen's story. I will admit, though, that I don't think this film will be for everyone, but it certainly was for me, that much was for sure.

The returning Mason Thames put in a very respectable and enjoyable leading performance, which showcased a very different side of his acting. This included one particular scene which really stood out to me, in which Thames' character had an intense release of emotion that was extremely well delivered, in my view. The performance wasn't perfect, but I was still impressed, generally speaking.

Although I enjoyed the bulk of Madeleine McGraw's work in this film, as she too retained her previous role, I thought she occasionally verged on overdoing it, at various points. I did, however, really appreciate how she acted with both Thames and Miguel Mora - her on-screen bond with both of them was both clear and endearing to see. Those few moments aside, I thought this was a very solid performance from McGraw.

Ethan Hawke had been a wonderfully creepy villain in the first film, and he was back to his sinister best once again this time around. Hawke seems to revel in this twisted character, and it came across truly wickedly. This film, as well as its predecessor, is a prime example of Hawke flexing his range and pedigree, now that he is such an established name. It has been very cool to see. I also thought Demián Bichir showed by far the best of his talents that I had seen to this point, with a pretty strong supporting performance, which was, at times, even quite emotional and sincere.

I thought three other names were worth mentioning for their performances; with the most prominent of those being Miguel Mora, who actually played a slightly different role in the previous film, but did a good job with this new one. I thought he was very endearing, particularly during his more emotionally intimate scenes with McGraw. I also felt like Jeremy Davies and Arianna Rivas were worth mentioning, despite a relative lack of screentime. I actually thought Rivas deserved more screentime - her character was definitely underutilised, in my opinion.

Overall, despite enjoying the first film, I was still pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one too. It has its pitfalls, mostly with its early pacing, but, for the most part, this was a really engrossing supernatural horror. As much as I would be interested by a third chapter in this story though, I'm not sure how that would happen, so maybe it's best to leave this at two. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel, and a good deal more than perhaps I was expecting.