Black Phone

In the end, I'm disappointed. It started off fine, but it stayed fine for the rest of the film and in short I was expecting something more than just fine. I was waiting for some questions to be answered, some revelations, some explanations. I was most puzzled by the ending, which seemed too quick, almost cut off. Not to criticize, I liked the time setting. It added a bit of magic. At least for me. Summary. Bottom line. It was okay, but I was expecting a little more. A little more depth to the story. I missed some revelation or explanation. For me, an above average horror film that I would only recommend to fans of the genre.

7.4/10

This movie was definitely a solid 7 and is absolutely worth seeing in theatres.

The chemistry amongst actors was really good. I especially found that Mason Thames (Finney) and Madeline McGraw (Gwen) were adorable as brother and sister. Their relationship reminded me of the one I have with my sister so I was able to make the story more personal. Ethan Hawke was very methodical and creepy without getting too close to the extreme, but definitely could've reached even better heights of true discomfort. His chemistry with Thames worked really well for their interactions.

The story was very engaging. Everything flowed so well that the hour forty-five minute runtime flew by. While it's in the title of the movie, the black phone was actually an uncomfortable aspect of the film because you never know when it will go off and the jump scares are perfectly timed to match. There was discomfort throughout the entire film, but it never hit the extremes it could've.

If I had to relate this film to another of similar aspects it would have to be "The Kid Detective". However, instead of focusing strictly on the search for the missing person, we get the benefit of seeing the missing person suffer.

Why should you go see this film? Because it's actually scary. So much so that those in the theatre actually jumped and a couple may have thrown an audible scream out. While the story could've been darker, for what were given it's actually pretty good. And like I said above the chemistry is really good. This film was not a disappointment and I suggest you go see if you want a good movie to watch.

Thank you for reading my review. Tune in tomorrow for my review on "Elvis". Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

Indeed, well entertained I was - a fine cast and solid production (takes us back to the late 70s), and that blend of thriller with a good shot of supernatural horror made The Black Phone a nice entertaining trip. The cast is really good, especially the younger ones too. Recommended if you like such movies as The Lovely Bones, Split, Chained (Vincent D'Onofrio), House at the End of the Street and so on.

A sadistic abductor and child killer, who masquerades as a Clown, known as The Grabber has taken a young boy and imprisoned him, inside his cell is a black phone, which somehow links him up with previous victims.

This film isn't going to be for everyone, it is such a bleak and macabre story, some may find it upsetting, it has a similar feel to IT, the original that is. That said, it is very original, tense and loaded with suspense, if you're into it you'll have so many questions, and you'll want to know the outcome. Maybe some of it's ambiguous, but that is on the film's favour I think.

The Grabber is almost an iconic villain, that hideous mask, the hat and general appearance, there's definitely a vibe of The Child catcher about him, he is played to perfection by Ethan Hawke, he is a daunting presence.

The youngsters are all terrific, there is a lot of talent on show here, Mason Thames, who played Finn was terrific, what a future ahead.

Well worth a look, 8/10.

Ethan Hawke is at it again, I loved the vibe of the movie, director came in clutch with this movie, it was truly surprising. Didn't expect it to be even remotely good, when this movie does fully release in theaters please do watch it in the big screens you will not regret it, child actors are incredible. I thought i saw the whole movie in the trailers, oh boy I was wrong.