A Book A Week

The Black Phone has been one of my most anticipated films of the year since I first heard it was being made. Director Scott Derrickson and his screenwriting partner C. Robert Cargill, of Sinister and Doctor Strange fame, have adapted Joe Hill's short story of the same name into a supernatural horror film that begs to be seen on the big screen. This marked the first time I've gone to see a scary movie in the theater since before the pandemic. I didn't realize how much I missed the communal experience of jumping and laughing together at all the right moments. There's something about being packed together into a theater, communally experiencing a story, that just can't be beaten. 

The film pretty faithfully follows the short story that it's based upon while naturally fleshing out the characters and scenarios into a more well-rounded length. Young Finney (Mason Thames) has watched his community scramble as local children go missing. The Grabber, as the kidnapper has become known, has lured multiple boys into his van. The kids are never seen again. Finney struggles with bullying at school and an abusive, alcoholic father at home. He takes refuge in his sister Gwen (played by a scene-stealing Madeleine McGraw) who has a no-nonsense outlook on life and isn't afraid to fight the kids who pick on her brother. One day as Finney walks home from school, he encounters his worst fear, a black van filled with black balloons and a masked man who has decided to make the boy his next victim. 

When Finney awakens from a chemical-induced haze, he finds himself in a sparse basement, alone save for the very man who put him here. The Grabber (a devilishly demented Ethan Hawke) stares back, his eyes peeking from behind a ghoulish rubber mask. The Grabber promises Finney that he means no harm and that the entire ordeal will be over soon. He disappears into the house above leaving the boy on the bare mattress to contemplate his predicament. Finney is distracted from his own thoughts by the ringing of the antique black phone on the wall next to him. The phone shouldn't be ringing. The cable connecting it to the wall is cut, making the reality he is witnessing impossible. He answers, but no one is there. Little does Finney know that this phone will be the key to him making it out alive. 

I hadn't read Joe Hill's short story since I first encountered it as part of his collection 20th Century Ghost Stories. My reading of it predates the existence of my blog, so it has been well over 10 years. As I watched The Black Phone, I was struck by just how different this is from other horror movies. Yes, there are plenty of scares and moments that are genuinely disturbing, but the filmmakers never spook for the sake of being spooky. Instead, they have drawn authentic characters who are buoyed by clever writing and fantastic performances by a young cast. The result is a film that draws you in by showing its heart. I couldn't help but empathize with the kids, making it easy to root for them to get out of a terrible predicament. Hawkes's performance as the main villain is nothing short of chilling. He imbues The Grabber with a flair of unpredictability and emotional heft that it is really hard to make heads or tails of his intent. This only adds to the suspense. The plot is methodically constructed, though you don't realize it until the big payoff at the end. The Black Phone is everything I want in a movie, especially an adaptation of a short story. There's a great plot, endearing characters, and a terrifying villain, all coming together to make a thoroughly enjoyable film.