directed by Scott Derrickson

I haven’t written any non-necessarily-to-watch post in a while, but seems like you miss those, so here we are. I was thinking which film had recently disappointed me the most and I guess this is the winner. I normally don’t watch trailers, but I went to see one film in the cinema and they played “The Black Phone” trailer before it, so I was kind of forced to watch. And I remember how thrilled I was about this horror, and I still believe that the trailer is very well-made. So imagine my expectations about the film. But since I’m writing about it today, you might be guessing the film didn’t excite me as much as the trailer. Basically, the story is about “The Grabber” (Ethan Hawke), a child abductor. A very successful child abductor, I may say. And we also have siblings, Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), one of which gets kidnapped by the man. Finney is being kept in a basement where he can find a black rotary phone on one of the walls. According to the abductor, the phone doesn’t work, but when he’s not there, Finney hears it ringing. When the boy answers the phone, he hears his friend speaking to him and giving him some tips about the basement and how to run away from there. That friend is not the only child that calls, and at some point Finney realises that he’s talking to their ghosts. Doom, doom, doom. Sounds awesome, right? Yeah, too bad I found it horribly shallow. The idea is wonderful, but at some point I felt bored with the way they were telling the story. We have numerous brilliant films that take place in one flat or even room, yet this horror is not one of them. I feel like by lack of thrilling ideas, they wasted the potential. Plus, a lot of people, including me, notice that we don’t really get to learn anything much about The Grabber. Like we would like to know more about him, about his past, about his character, background, hobbies, professional experience… okay, joking, but you know what I mean. The best part of horrors is when we get to know the bad guy. And here, he just exists and he seems bland and dull, even though he’s played by the talented Ethan Hawke. I was hoping that it’s one of those films that keep you feeling “meh” and then hit you with an exceptional ending. Well, no. Many say that the film has “Stranger Things” vibes and perhaps that is why there are fans of this horror. I, however, didn’t find the series that exciting and (please, don’t get mad) I actually believe it’s overrated… It’s not bad, but slightly too naive for me… Anyway, that’s why I always say that even if I dislike some film, it doesn’t mean you will. But now you know my opinion so maybe I’ve just saved you 2 hours of your life. You’re welcome. Or maybe you’ll watch it and want to express your opinion – and that’s even better. I love discussing about films, especially when the other person has different views. Once again, “Stranger Things” fans, don’t hate me, and all my dearest readers, watch the trailer and find yourselves a different film. That’s my final word.
My rating: 3/10
S.