By On June 24th Universal Pictures unleashes the new terror into theaters. The new horror thriller ‘The Black Phone’ by director Scott Derrickson.
Derrickson, who is known for the film ‘Sinister’ and ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ returns with a chilling tale adapted from Joe Hill’s ‘The Black Phone’. A story about a young boy who gets kidnapped by a notorious masked serial killer by the name of The Grabber. But unaware to The Grabber, the 13-year-old boy is held in a room in which an old black disconnected phone will help him the child fight for survival.
Latin Horror got to see this film twice! And our initial thought for the ‘The Black Phone’ is that the movie has this perfect pace that sets up the brother and sister relationship of Finny Shaw and Gwen Shaw, as well as the town and victims. Finny is played by Mason Thames and Gwen by Madeleine McGraw. These two young actors have so much chemistry together and so much talent, that they give their respected charters heart. We guarantee that throughout the film you will be routing for them, crying for them and loving them.
There is a scene where Gwen is being beaten by Mr. Shaw (her father), who is played by Jeremy Davies. This scene is raw and heart breaking but also shows the range of skills that Madeleine has, she just blows you away with her truly natural performance. On the other hand, Mason Thames carries this film. The character of Finny is such a well crafted character. Just watching him go from a shy bullied boy to a clever kick-ass, phone wielding, confident warrior that goes head to head with The Grabber, is amazing.
The Grabber is played by the amazing Ethan Hawke. This role actually reunites Ethan and director Scott Derrickson. They both worked on ’Sinister’ a film being proclaimed as “The scariest film ever made.” Hidden behind a mask throughout the movie, Ethan shows us his rage of creepiness and unexpected danger that The Grabber is capable of. In a disturbing scene, where Finny wakes up and finds the The Grabber watching him, Ethan portrayal of an emotionally vulnerable killer will leave you having nightmares for weeks.
Over all the ‘The Black Phone’ is great horror thriller but what makes it special is the strong performances by the entire cast of this film. The film is worth watching in theaters on June 24th.
Recently, Latin Horror got a chance to have a chat with director Scott Derrickson. Were he discusses why he chose to do ‘The Black Phone’, how he made it his own, and how the segmented mask came to be. It is fun interesting interview as Scott dives into his friendship with Stephen King’s son, his own childhood and the great Tom Savini. So make sure to watch this fantastic video interview below.
Comments