Black Phone 2 (dir. Scott Derrickson)

by Jack Martin | Oct 18, 2025

Certificate: 18

Running Time: 114 mins

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures

UK Release Date: 17 October 2025

WHO’S IN BLACK PHONE 2?

Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Demián Bichir, Miguel Mora, Jeremy Davies, Arianna Rivas, Anna Lore, Graham Abbey, Maev Beaty

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Scott Derrickson (director, writer, producer), C. Robert Cargill (writer, producer), Jason Blum (producer), Atticus Derrickson (composer), Pär M. Ekberg (cinematographer), Louise Ford (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Finney (Thames) confronts his former kidnapper (Hawke) in unexpected ways…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON BLACK PHONE 2?

2025 has been a testing year for mega-producer Jason Blum, who through his production company Blumhouse has made a few films like The Woman in the Yard and Drop that have taken bold creative steps which haven’t translated so well with critics or at the box office. Two of them have been sequels to previous Blumhouse hits M3GAN and The Black Phone, with the former crashing and burning after audiences widely rejected the sillier and more action-heavy theatrics of something that was already enjoyably camp, leaving Black Phone 2 to save face for Blum and his ambitious sense of one-upmanship.

But Black Phone 2 arguably takes an even greater leap of faith than M3GAN 2.0 did. Whereas director Scott Derrickson’s first film, an adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story, was more of a grounded kidnap horror with strong but not overpowering supernatural elements, this follow-up fully leans into the latter with a dream-centric narrative that recalls a certain other scarred child murderer, to a point where this film could genuinely be seen as the far superior remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street than the actual 2010 remake.

It is also superior in the sense that, unlike M3GAN 2.0, this is a sequel that actually feels like a close companion to its predecessor, expanding upon the lore and the horrors that come with it to satisfying degrees while keeping itself focused on the story and characters rather than barraging the viewer with endless jump scares. It’s a strong horror sequel which, though not without a few issues, is a rare bright spot for Blumhouse in a year largely filled with disappointment.

Taking place a few years after the events of the original, we pick up with Finney (Mason Thames) – the former victim of the now-dead masked child kidnapper known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) – struggling to move on from the trauma he’s inflicted in his abductor’s presence. But when his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who’s been either blessed or cursed with unusual psychic abilities, begins having vivid dreams about young children being slaughtered at a Christian youth camp in the snowy Colorado mountains, the siblings along with their friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora) head to the camp to investigate. There, via a conveniently placed phone booth, Finney receives another call from beyond the grave, this time from the Grabber who’s sworn vengeance against his former victim by attacking Gwen and others, including camp director Armando (Demián Bichir), via his newfound supernatural abilities which include, but aren’t necessarily limited to, entering their increasingly lucid dreams.

It’s an interesting choice to go the full Elm Street route with a sequel to The Black Phone, effectively turning the Grabber into Freddy Krueger whilst the actual slasher icon lingers in development hell, but Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill avoid turning their radical new approach into something that’s fully aware of its own ridiculousness. Instead, they embrace the much more supernatural concept and even double down on the terrifying nature of it, with the suspense predominantly coming from feelings of pure dread within the dark and brooding atmosphere instead of just applying a loud music stinger to sudden shocking imagery (which there are a couple of here, but they’re incorporated better than most other movies of its kind). There is some freaky imagery that is, quite literally, the stuff of nightmares, and the filmmakers do well to convey its unnerving nature in ways that are genuinely disturbing, via some effective camera shots and effects that, while blatantly computer-generated at times, still look good enough to linger long after they’re gone.

Derrickson also utilises some captivating cinematography, previously put to good use in the director’s 2012 horror Sinister, to distinguish between the different realms of reality we frequently switch between. The dream world wherein McGraw’s Gwen constantly finds herself is shot on Super 8 and Super 16 film cameras, which add a chilling home-video vibe as the grainy screen and soundtrack combo crackles with understated menace, almost to a point where it feels like you’re watching a grindhouse movie from the 1970s. Even though it’s shot more conventionally in the real world, cinematographer Pär M. Ekberg’s visuals still create a harsh and unforgiving environment where, regardless of whether or not the Grabber makes an appearance, you still feel as though something is always lurking within the darkness, ready to brutally dig its claws into you.

Sometimes, though, Black Phone 2 can get itself into a repetitive cycle, especially with the dream sequences that more or less follow the same pattern every time, which can dilute some of its tension since you already know what beats to expect by the third time it happens. There’s also a twist going into the third act regarding the fate of a certain character close to the protagonists which, while shocking in its own right, feels like too much of a convenient connection between the heroes and the villain, while also giving us an unnecessary extra reason to root against the Grabber (the guy’s already a serial child murderer in a creepy mask, what more does one need to truly hate him?).

Much of that is forgivable by how much Derrickson and Cargill clearly enjoy writing these characters and making them easy to like while also tapping into some of their more complex flaws. The acting is great, particularly from Thames and McGraw who form a compelling brother-sister duo with plenty of baggage between them, with McGraw’s Gwen especially solidifying herself as a formidable co-lead that builds on top of her already standout performance from the previous film. While some supporting players are largely just there without providing much of substance to the overall plot, you do still enjoy being in their company and identifying with their own struggles, like Bichir’s Armando who’s got this nice backstory of being a former criminal who’s turned to religion and actually represents the good aspects of Christianity, unlike the fire-and-brimstone woman also working at this camp who, given how judgemental and condescending she is towards others, makes it a marvel she was even offered the position in the first place.

Whether or not audiences respond well to the giant conceptual leaps that Black Phone 2 makes, this is a horror sequel that largely does its job by expanding the scares without going back on itself, transforming it into something that stands well enough on its own and leaves a solid impression. But now that this series has fully embraced the Nightmare on Elm Street template, let’s hope that future entries won’t see the Grabber go the same borderline-parodic route of Freddy Krueger (i.e. flaunting the NES Power Glove, which given how this movie is set during the 1980s is more of a genuine possibility than you might think).

SO, TO SUM UP…

Black Phone 2 is a solid horror sequel that expands upon the scares and the lore in stylistic and aesthetically pleasing fashion, with its occasional repetitiveness and risky venture into Nightmare on Elm Street territory overcome with strong filmmaking and character work which makes the terror more palpable.