The Black Phone

The Black Phone Review

By: Mya Bradford

The Black Phone is a movie where a 13-year-old boy, Finney, gets taken by The Grabber. He is locked in a soundproof basement so no one can hear his screams and cries. He soon hears a phone on the wall ring and finds out that he can talk to the previous victims. The victims give him ideas on how to escape. As he is trying to escape back to his little sister, Gwen, his little sister tries to have dreams to find her brother. The director of this popular movie is Scott Derrickson and the writer is Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill. Blumhouse productions aired this show, and they made over $150 million for it.

In the movie, the director wants to get the message across about standing up for yourself and to always have hope no matter what. I think the writer wants the audience to realize that you can stand up for yourself or someone but it might not be enough for the other person to stop. Finney couldn’t stop his dad from beating Gwen and he couldn’t stop his bullies from beating him up. His sister tried to fight the bullies, but they kicked her in the face. I think it’s important that we stick up for each other but it might not always work out. The style of the movie is horror, mystery, and thriller.

Other popular movies that Scott Derrickson has directed include: Sinister, Sinister 2, Poltergeist, and Doctor Strange. Derrickson created The Black Phone based on his childhood trauma. He created this movie based on his experience when he went to school in Denver. He dealt with constant bullying everyday just like Finney. Derrickson says that, ”I lived in that “stranger danger” time,” and then continues to go on about how his friend’s mother who lived next door to him was abducted and murdered, so the kids knew that there was a chance they could be abducted. He even based some of the kids off of the people he knew in real life when he was a kid.

I’m not a fan of horror movies because I get scared easily, but I really liked this one because it wasn’t that scary. It was really interesting and kept me wondering what would happen next and if he would eventually get out or if he would get caught. I think the effects were really good and that they looked real. My favorite thing about this movie is how he talks to the previous victims and they try to help him. I think that was an interesting way to spice up the movie. This movie is rated R so make sure to watch it with an adult!

In my opinion, this movie is a 10/10. I get all the hype about this movie. On Google, it is rated a 4.3/5 which is really good. I think that you should watch this movie. I haven’t heard one person yet say it’s a bad movie. All my friends said that it was so good, which is why I decided to watch it. It’s different from other horror movies, which is the reason I really like it. If you get tired of the same old, boring horror movies then this movie is definitely for you!

Sources:

Reuben Baron, “I lived in that ‘stranger danger’ time," he said. Looper.com, “Director Scott Derrickson describes his inspirations for The Black Phone.”, Looper, 22 August 2022, https://www.looper.com/965591/director-scott-derrickson-describes-his-inspirations-for-the-black-phone-exclusive/ 5 September 2022.

Shannon Carlin, “The bullying was constant,” he says. Time.com, The Black Phone Horror Trauma, “The Real life Inspiration Behind The Horror Film The Black Phone.” Time, 27 June 2022, https://time.com/6191651/the-black-phone-horror-trauma/ 5 September 2022.