When it was announced that Derrickson and Hawke would be reteaming, I was extremely interested. Their first film together was super solid. Could this one recapture the lightning in a bottle? Then I began to look more into the film and found it was an adaptation of a Joe Hill story.
By this point, I had seen Horns starring Daniel Radcliffe. It was also a Joe Hill adaptation. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. So I roughly had an idea of what to expect going into it. Especially considering that Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King, but he's written a lot of solid work.
I made sure that I stayed away from any trailers for the film. I wanted to go in completely blind. Just let the story speak for itself. Besides the wonderful poster, that is exactly what happened.
For those who would like to know more about the story of The Black Phone, the synopsis is as follows:
Finney Blake is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of no use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer's previous victims. And they are dead-set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney.
The Black Phone is a bit of an experience. It is a film that I would consider to recapture the magic that Derrickson and Hawke had provided in Sinister. While Hawke delivers a fantastic performance as the Grabber, each and every scene he is in is pretty captivating. There are a few different layers that one could see in the initial watch. Then with each subsequent view, people may uncover a little bit more.
The big characters in The Black Phone are the children. Each and every one delivers a super impressive performance. Mason Thames is awesome as Finney. Finney goes on such an incredible journey over the course of the story. He goes from someone that is down on their luck to rising above it. Madeline McGraw is fantastic as Finney's sister, Gwen. She is quick to look out for her brother while also calling others out. The interaction between the two is incredibly key to the film. Honestly, I don't think there's a performance that falters in the film.
This story is one that doesn't overstep its boundary. It allows the story to breathe and take us on an incredible journey. On a second rewatch, there were some layers that I hadn't discovered before - especially with the family relationships and interactions. The Black Phone is a film that delivers and something I would highly recommend checking out.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment