In this Scott Derrickson’s latest, a deranged kidnapper lurks in a sleepy community of Colorado. His attest victim is a scrawny little boy, who is bullied in school, abused by father, and has a psychic for a sibling.
With its dysfunctional homes and little adult supervision, The Black Phone is set in Colorado at the height of the latchkey kid era (1978). The film paints a nerve-racking picture of missing kids’ panic. Finney Blake (Mason Thames), who lives with his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) & their alcoholic father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), finds himself in a predicament because he is the focus of bullying all the time at school. Amidst vicious bullying, a close friend named Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) defends Finney from time to time. The plot thickens when Finney soon finds himself in a dank basement with the only instrument in full view being the titular phone which doesn’t work. The essence of horror emerges when it turns out that the phone indeed works.
This semi-paranormal thriller is set in a subdued neighborhood of North Denver. Following a baseball match, a 13-year-old named Bruce Yamada was at his home. A black van coming towards his way sends a sinister implication when the intro rolls in. With its eerie music and vintage undertone, the intro promises a ride of terror. The flyers for missing children, the brown and orange light in the graphics, and flared trousers, all are appropriately reminiscent of the film’s 1978 setting.
The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) is frightening; he wears a black top hat with half-face clown makeup and a devil mask. He drives a black van and wields several black balloons as a prop in his kidnapping of youths. He disguises himself as a part-time magician. In his portrayal of the Grabber, Hawke oozes pure wickedness. He builds traps to give himself a reason to beat the lads. One thing the film does not explore is the origin of The Grabber’s viciousness.
Hawke got limited screen time, yet he managed to create a lasting impact among the viewers with his character’s crooked smile and psychological manipulation.
In the wake of Robin’s kidnapping, the bullies assault Finney once more and his sister Gwen, who stands up for him. Finney becomes the Grabber’s latest victim when he puts the young boy into his van in a manner Hannibal from Silence of the Lambs would be proud of. During the agonizing confinement, a mystery call comes from a black phone in the sound-proof basement, putting Finney in touch with the ghosts of the missing boys. The spirits of previous victims call the scared juvenile, giving him tips to survive that will hopefully turn the tables on his situation. Finney’s vivacious little sister uses psychic abilities even though her father strictly forbids her to tap into her inherited psychic power.
The ‘evil’ part of the film does not necessarily entail hideous ghosts and voodoo dolls. It also derives from the atrocity of degrading human practices, in this case, child-killing.
Hawke’s sadistic character is an unsubtle homage to Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, two of the most renowned serial killers of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Grabber, like Bundy, lures, drugs, and then kidnaps the victims that grab his attention using a van. Like Gacy, he also disguises himself as a magician/clown to attract pubescent teen boys, imprisons them in his extremely eerie basement, and prepares them for impending horrors.
Considering that the film is a touching adaptation of Joe Hill’s 2005 short story, there are lots of sprinkles of Stephen King easter eggs, specifically from IT. Pennywise was incomplete without his ominous red balloons, just like our unhinged killer with his black balloons. At one point in the film, Gwen’s yellow jacket is unmissable as she rides amidst the rain. This is more like the imagery when young Georgie was in an identical raincoat and ventured out by himself.
Bullied outcasts in the neck of a sleepy town and the sheer panic of the town’s rising number of missing children – the narrative feels unavoidably influenced. Beneath the horror tale is a more tangible coming-of-age perspective which is- if you are determinant enough, you can defeat any man-made nightmare. Derrickson, who co-wrote the screenplay with C. Robert Cargill, ignites back memories of his youth when Ted Bundy was making headlines and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was playing at the drive-in.
Despite the lack of originality, The Black Phone keeps it safe and simple with some shudder-inducing moments. Character development takes priority over gore in the tale, but the movie still manages to delight viewers. What keeps viewers at the edge of their seats is their concern for Finney and the expert portrayal of the kidnapper’s insanity.