Thursday, October 6, 2022

October Horror Challenge 2022 #24: "The Black Phone"

The first time I heard about this movie, I was watching a preview whille I was in jail. It definitely intrigued me because it had Ethan Hawke in it, and the last horror film I remembered him being in was Sinister, which was a spectacuar horror flick, so I was excited to get out of jail and see this movie. It gave me a goal, something to look forward to, and I needed any hope I could get back then, so I was grateful for the distraction that this movie provided. Thanks to a kind gift from a friend I'm able to watch this movie today and finally get a chance to see if it lives up to the hype.

This movie takes place in 1978. A string of kidnappings of young boys are plaguing a small town. When the latest victim finds himsef shut up in the killer's soundproof lair, he tries everything to escape, guided by mysterious phone calls on a black phone attached to the wall. As the killer's sadistic game becomes clearer, the young boy must figure out a way to fight the killer and escape before he joins the killer's other victims.

Ethan Hawke is creepy as hell in this movie. He definitely went all out for this role, and he plays it perfectly. Mason Thames also does a great job as Finney Blake, and Madeleine McGraw is good in her role as Gwen, Finney's sister. This is a coming-of-age horror flick and we realy get to see Finney grow and come into his own throughout the course of the movie. The movie isn't overly gory but what goore there is manages to be used to great effect to propel the story forward. I don't want to give too much away and spoil the fun for you viewers, but this movie reminds me of great coming-of-age horror stories like It, which was written by Stephen King, whose son Joe Hill wrote the story The Black Phone on which this movie is based. If you're a horror fan or a fan of Ethan Hawke, I recommend that you check this movie out. It's definitely one of the best movies I've seen this year so far.

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