Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic.You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Not to brag, but I’m a pretty big fan of the first Black Phone film. It was in my Top 10 of 2022, and I believe I had Mason Thames and Scott Derickson in my top 10 for both Actor and Director. I wasn’t a big fan of horror before losing my sight, but The Black Phone is certainly one of the films that I’m glad I got to experience, because I don’t know if I would have otherwise. Probably, but maybe not. So, heading into Black Phone 2, my expectations were high.

The first film featured a young Finney (Thames) having to go up against The Grabber (Ethan hawke), who is a parents worst nightmare. For all the stranger danger warnings, and asking children to watch out for vans, it certainly capitalized on the fear institutionalized in kids who got to play outside at some point in their life. No, there’s no bike in the van, and the strange guy behind the wheel is not mommy’s secret friend you’ve never met.

I was intrigued at the desire to do a second film, then concerned when I heard it was both a sequel, and still starring Ethan Hawke. I’ll tell you, you can either come into this movie accepting that, or let it be a hate watch. the first film is superior, but I still decided to just keep calm and carry on. Otherwise, this review would just be a tirade on how they deviated so far from the original.

If I did that, I’d be ignoring the positives. Mason Thames, who is a star in the making, is still an incredible young actor who will continue to land the best roles moving forward. His Finney this time around is like a shell shocked veteran, who is also determined to once again prevail. but the real winner is Madeline McGraw, and if you don’t bother with the film, you miss her exceptional performance, which is in a much more extended role. one would argue Mcgraw’s Gwen is the lead, with Mason’s Finney running a close second.

The film takes place three years after the events of the original, with Finney now a surly teenager who answers everyone with his fists. He’s really into pot, and not talking or thinking about the Grabber. his sister is still the voice of reason, and she still has visions. One such vision appears to be from her mom, calling her from the past, and telling her about this Camp Alpine. Something terrible happened here, and Gwen feels like it is tied to the Grabber. She feels uniquely compelled to solve this crime, and Finney begrudgingly joins. They set off to be counselors at this camp, in the middle of a snowstorm. Along for the ride is Ernesto (Miguel Mora), who is the younger brother of Finney’s late friend Robin, and is clearly crushing on Gwen. He’s off limits to Finney’s rage, as Gwen reminds him that Robin would want him to look after Ernesto.

We get to Camp Alpine, and the film just takes a hard left into insanity. Compared to the last film, it starts to feel like Derickson was forced against his will to make this and attempt to make it make sense. Here’s the summary with as few spoilers as possible. the kids arrive, meet the owner (Demian Bichir, wondering where his roles went) and the other regular staff. Thanks to the blizzard, there are no kids.

Which is good, because pretty soon a black phone rings, and our trio needs to find the bodies of three kids who were brutally murdered (seriously, really brutally) by the Grabber before he was even the Grabber. these kids bodies somehow have allowed the Grabber to exist in a Freddy Krueger state, where he supernaturally attacks those around the camp. Gwen also has a problem with sleepwalking, and her visions often lead her to danger. The trio has to keep each other alive, solve the vicious (I’m not joking here) murders, and rid the world of the Grabber hopefully once and for all. Are the staff at the camp helpers or dead weight? Bichir’s Mondo is on top of it, but he has some weird religious zealots working for him who think Gwen is possessed by the devil. The film also introduced a fourth counselor, Mustang (Ariana Rivas) who seems like a cool chick if they gave her more to do. She’s even suggested as a possible love interest for Finney, but Derickson has no time for that.

The last great thing he does here, is clean up Finney and Gwen’s father (Jeremy Davies), so he can give a coherent and useful performance, even if his screentime is relative to the first film.Derickson also shows Gwen a truth about her past, making everything come full circle for her. I truly have no idea what a third film in this franchise would even look like, especially if they continue to retain the cast (including Hawke). there’s simply no room for the survivors and the Grabber after this. It just cannot be.

Black Phone 2 ramped up the gore, so if the violence toward children made you uncomfortable in the first film, this should properly disgust you. there’s one moment involving a window that was about a hundred more times gruesome than I was expecting. The Grabber apparently got a bit more tame when he moved back to town.

If you can accept this for what it is, there is still good stuff here. I can understand the visceral reaction to reject it outright, but Mcgraw, her expanded Gwen and creative potty mouth make it worthwhile. Where the first film proved Thames was a star in the making, the sequel brings McGraw to the front.

The Black Phone is still ringing. perhaps, not as loud as the first time, but ringing to its own tune still worth picking up.

Fresh: 7.7/10