16:44 I like that the kids were shown, because it shows who they are, what they were like in the little moments of their lives, where they were during the events of being trapped and killed, because a lot of times in cases you know SO much about the killer and very little about the victims aside from what the family and friends say, and it also was a nice contrast to what you said before about the Grabber’s face being mostly obscured when he was first introduced and we still know little of his past except for implications sprinkled in. And with the whole movie being so grounded in a real problem that happens way too often, you would know about the Grabber’s upbringing and nothing of the victims further forcing them to be forgotten and just another victim as we see them “fading” and forgetting who they are and were.
I think what makes this movie work so well despite having some cliche moments, a normal guy as a villain, and a happy ending where the bad guy gets killed by a kid is the fact that the set up is so good. They show some believable interactions between some of the murder victims and the kidnapped brother. They also hint at the backstory of The Grabber vaguely with the line about how the phone doesn't work - at least, it hasn't since he was a kid. Tie that with the fact that he's waiting upstairs to play a game of "Naughty Boy" and it seems like a decent indication that maybe The Grabber was abused as a kid in that basement by a family member which is what led him to where he is now. It's possibly also the reason his brother is a drug addict. I know this is a reach, but I think it does make logical sense. The reason that they wouldn't hint at anything more than just these extremely vague clues is because they didn't want to give any overt or direct reason to have some kind of sympathy for the killer in the story. They left little breadcrumbs for people to speculate on, but they refused to give anything concrete in this case. I also really like the idea that the phone only works to help those suffering from some kind of inhuman act. The phone didn't pick Finney specifically, it acts as some kind of gateway to assist those who are suffering from some kind of trauma. I don't know how it works, and I don't really care. It's believable enough to me that it helped Finney in this instance and also possibly helped The Grabber out as a kid. Now that he's the abuser, the phone "no longer works" for him.
I assumed that Fin is able to speak to the ghosts, because of some kind of gift - like his sister has visions and his mom heard voices. That's why they were able to speak to him and help him to get revenge.
i love this movie a lot! A good plot, good acting and just over all enjoyable to watch. It makes you feel disturbed without needing gore. I remember I was shocked when I found out Ethan Hawke played the grabber. Great review!
I really liked this movie. my heart just broke when those two precious siblings were torn apart, and I absolutely ate up how all the previous victims made appearances and added a piece to each part of Finn’s escape. each piece of advice also hinted at where their story ended, which was both super cool and tragic. like “don’t go up the stairs (I did, and look what happened to me).” such great storytelling. I also felt that Gwen was familiar, like I had heard her voice somewhere, and then I learned that Madeleine is Violet McGraw’s sister! I loved HoHH, what a nice surprise. nice video, been binging your stuff!
the scene of the dad abusing gwen truly gave me a panic attack in the theatre, it reminded me so much of my real experience with child abuse. i kind of wish i was warned ahead - i'd still have seen the film, but prepared more mentally to see child abuse so vividly depicted. that being said, the realism is impressive. people turn abusers and victims into cartoons too often.
I think it should stay a standalone movie. If they wanted a sequel, they should have had the cops come into the home, and it end up being where her brother WAS. Her visions are realy, but they're of stuff thats already happened. They end up not saving the brother and the movie ends with an empty house the and van driving down the road a couple streets down. Would suck phin had a bad ending, but the movies ending would have been even creepier knowing he's still out there. Idk how they can make a sequel with the main bad guy dead
also I love how the grabber's mask works!! it's so unique and each mask & "stage" of his game has a different personality to it. I literally took notes associating every part
I saw this movie with one of my best friends on a whim one summer day where we just decided to go to the movies and figured we'd see this new horror movie. We were both enthralled by this and disturbed. We had no idea what it was about, and it took us by complete surprise. The scene showing Bruce's memories and young life up until he was kidnapped shook me and I realized I wasn't just watching some summer horror movie, but something more.
You are literally the most handsome horror movie reviewer. 😍 Total swoon. Your commentary is so insightful and in depth. I absolutely love your content. ❤
Dude, Madeline being the actor for Gwen was crazy. There’s a Disney show called “The secrets of Sulfur Springs” and she plays the little sister to one of the main leads. Hearing her swear was so weird, and other people who watched the show first probably feel the same way
I completely agree with what you said about expository dialogue and I'll go even further to say that I feel like half the time, complaints about it just feel like the critic is letting everyone know that they noticed it. It's moreso signaling a sentiment of "look at me, I'm smart and know film stuff" or copying what they've heard other critics say than pointing out an actual flaw in the film. Sure, in an otherwise bad film, expository dialogue can stand out as another piece of the puzzle that doesn't quite fit to make a full picture, but in a competent film it's just a tool to get past the backstory and get to the good stuff.
i watched this movie on a flight to Barcelona lol. anyway, i agree with your point about the dead kids being too in your face. i would have preferred them to stay voices, but if they HAVE to show them it would've been cool if they were just shadowy figures. kind of like the myths about shadow figures/black eyed children.
My mom and I took my little brother and cousin to see the minions movie. It was sold out and we ended up watching the black phone… that movie wasn’t for kids at all 😂 it was a good movie though
I clicked on this video because I watched your vid on Sinister and because I didn’t really like The Black Phone and wanted to hear your opinions. I liked what you had to say, and now I kind of want to watch it again. My favorite parts by far were the ones with Gwen and her visions. However I found myself unafraid most of the movie. I wanted to be scared for Finn, unsure that he would succeed, but I never was. I didn’t feel any doubt that Finn would be found alive/defeat the grabber which took most of the wind out of the sails of the movie for me. Also, I didn’t like how explicit the dead children were, I agree with you that those scenes were tonally dissonant with the rest of the movie Great video! I will be watching more of your stuff, just discovered you today.
if they really do make a sequel it should be an anthology abt the idea of a phone like that and take a new approach instead of trying to do a new grabber
Evan, you started out hilariously with the nod to the Sinister movies, but less than 30 seconds in you bagged on us Gen Xers😮. Go easy on us, I think 80s and 90s kids who love horror might be a great niche.
That was just me having a go at all the people who seem obsessed with young people not knowing about obsolete technology. A huge portion of my viewership is GenX I’ve got nothing against ya’ll
Omg 😭💖 This is a channel that artually says the word 'suicide' - finally. I'm so sick of channels voluntarily choosing to cover heavy subject matter, and then using cutesy, TikToky ad-friendly euphemisms because "oops, actually saying what it is makes it *too* heavy, and that would mean - uhhh... children couldn't watch this"
Actually that’s not the reason. The reason is cuz UA-cam may demonetize or take down the video. That’s why with some words some channels may use another term to refer to the actual word or sensor that word.
It’s cause creators want money for their work, and if they say “screw it, I’ll say it anyways”, they get a strike. Too many strikes means your channel and all things associated with it, like videos, photos, posts, polls, etc., will be deleted. So there goes their entire career.
I saw Spiderwyck Chronicles years ago. I remember liking it but beyond that, i don't remember much about it. Totally unrelated, i remember Highmore making me cry in Finding Neverland. Further unrelated saw Alian Romulus tonight, enjoyed it, liked David Jonsson a like, had a satisfying death, appreciated the nods to the original: the composure using cues from Goldsmith's score. Loved Wallfisch's score by the way. Great sound design, the "Get away from her, you bitch" was kind of laughable. Missed your live chat, will have to catch it next time, Evan.
I think this movie's fine, but I didn't really care much for it. I wanted it to be more serious and horror-focused, but the weird bits of comedy took me out. I felt like this movie struggled with choosing if it wanted to be a black comedy or serious horror.
I really enjoyed this film. I found it to be effective and it kept my attention all the way through (which can be a real order). Horror movies should always remain simple with a few key elements getting a lot of deliberate development, and each element should move the plot forward. I think this movie did well with not adding a bunch of disjointed details. The only thing that was kinda useless was, as mentioned, the brother. But I think they added thst because of the real-life John Wayne Gacy case that inspired some of the elements of the Grabber.
Hello. Does anyone know why The Grabber has such a strong reaction to Finney taking the mask off? Is this explored more in Joe Hill’s book? I was really curious into why.
The entire time I was watching this movie, I couldn't help but feel a Stephen King vibe (in a very good way). Well-written kids in harrowing situations. Now I know why.
also I feel like, the heavy handed dialogue sort of makes sense from the kids? like, kids are prone to stating the obvious at times, so it doesn't break the immersion badly.
This movie, in my opinion, is a rare example of the adaptation being better than the source material. Joe Hill wrote this back in 2004 really early on his career and naturally he’s only gotten better. My biggest criticisms would be it’s somewhat cliche and it’s too short, you’re left wanting more. since the movies are feature length you get much more character development, great performances from the actors, especially Ethan Hawk, and I think the addition of the mask and its design was really cool. A lot better than “killer clown kidnaps kid” just my 2 cents.
Huh...I thought the coked out brother was a really good addition. He wasn't pointless or comic relief to me but the different ways people can deal with trauma. The differences between how the brothers dealt with their father's abuse and how family members don't want to think their family can be a monster. All he went through to be in denial and that he could still even be in the house and put himself in a situation where he wouldn't notice.
I wonder if the grabber also had a 6th sense like Gwen. Also if they are fonna do a sequel I wonder if its going to be a prequel rather than a continuation of the first film.
You missed out on one of the best horror movies of 2022. Also the guy who wrote the short story is related to Stephen King, not the movie. It’s quite different from the short
Thats def a stretch. Only the people who have seen the movie would even recognize the mask. Yet people that have never seen a screen movie would automatically recognize ghost face mask
I will disagree with the exorcism of Emily rose. The lead actress was great but the rest of the movie was so generic and boring. Didn't find it scary at all.
Honestly, really corny & really overrated movie. I would only watch it again if somebody else already had it on. I want to watch it again on my own. I think my biggest problem with it is that, after watching it, I felt like i just watched nothing happen for an hour and a half.
@@evrisy Thank you for pointing that out... I apologize for any offense there. I don't think I was aware that the term was considered to be strong enough to avoid saying, so I appreciate that. I certainly would've avoided it if I'd made the video now, but I am sorry for having said it in the first place. Thanks again to both of you for pointing this out.
I watched this movie when it came out just randomly, just decided to watch a movie and made it a scary one, and honestly I remember not really caring for it. Though it was kinda stupid honestly. But maybe I was just distracted lol.
I like the subtlety of the grabber also being a victim but the fact they don’t try to justify his victimhood as an excuse for his abuse
I also liked that the grabber also could hear voices through the phone and eventually stopped answering when he started to abuse and off kids.
The part when everything came together including the victims voice, was very triumphant and satisfying . I watched it over and over.
It’s fantastic
16:44
I like that the kids were shown, because it shows who they are, what they were like in the little moments of their lives, where they were during the events of being trapped and killed, because a lot of times in cases you know SO much about the killer and very little about the victims aside from what the family and friends say, and it also was a nice contrast to what you said before about the Grabber’s face being mostly obscured when he was first introduced and we still know little of his past except for implications sprinkled in. And with the whole movie being so grounded in a real problem that happens way too often, you would know about the Grabber’s upbringing and nothing of the victims further forcing them to be forgotten and just another victim as we see them “fading” and forgetting who they are and were.
Bruh this channel needs more recognition
Thank you!
I think what makes this movie work so well despite having some cliche moments, a normal guy as a villain, and a happy ending where the bad guy gets killed by a kid is the fact that the set up is so good.
They show some believable interactions between some of the murder victims and the kidnapped brother. They also hint at the backstory of The Grabber vaguely with the line about how the phone doesn't work - at least, it hasn't since he was a kid. Tie that with the fact that he's waiting upstairs to play a game of "Naughty Boy" and it seems like a decent indication that maybe The Grabber was abused as a kid in that basement by a family member which is what led him to where he is now. It's possibly also the reason his brother is a drug addict. I know this is a reach, but I think it does make logical sense. The reason that they wouldn't hint at anything more than just these extremely vague clues is because they didn't want to give any overt or direct reason to have some kind of sympathy for the killer in the story. They left little breadcrumbs for people to speculate on, but they refused to give anything concrete in this case.
I also really like the idea that the phone only works to help those suffering from some kind of inhuman act. The phone didn't pick Finney specifically, it acts as some kind of gateway to assist those who are suffering from some kind of trauma. I don't know how it works, and I don't really care. It's believable enough to me that it helped Finney in this instance and also possibly helped The Grabber out as a kid. Now that he's the abuser, the phone "no longer works" for him.
I assumed that Fin is able to speak to the ghosts, because of some kind of gift - like his sister has visions and his mom heard voices. That's why they were able to speak to him and help him to get revenge.
I loved this movie!! What superb acting in this film!! The girl who played the sister was phenomenal!! I really enjoyed your review!!
i love this movie a lot! A good plot, good acting and just over all enjoyable to watch. It makes you feel disturbed without needing gore. I remember I was shocked when I found out Ethan Hawke played the grabber. Great review!
If you have kids you know that turn from upset to anger, its a hell of a thing to see
I really liked this movie. my heart just broke when those two precious siblings were torn apart, and I absolutely ate up how all the previous victims made appearances and added a piece to each part of Finn’s escape. each piece of advice also hinted at where their story ended, which was both super cool and tragic. like “don’t go up the stairs (I did, and look what happened to me).” such great storytelling. I also felt that Gwen was familiar, like I had heard her voice somewhere, and then I learned that Madeleine is Violet McGraw’s sister! I loved HoHH, what a nice surprise. nice video, been binging your stuff!
the scene of the dad abusing gwen truly gave me a panic attack in the theatre, it reminded me so much of my real experience with child abuse. i kind of wish i was warned ahead - i'd still have seen the film, but prepared more mentally to see child abuse so vividly depicted. that being said, the realism is impressive. people turn abusers and victims into cartoons too often.
I think it should stay a standalone movie. If they wanted a sequel, they should have had the cops come into the home, and it end up being where her brother WAS. Her visions are realy, but they're of stuff thats already happened. They end up not saving the brother and the movie ends with an empty house the and van driving down the road a couple streets down. Would suck phin had a bad ending, but the movies ending would have been even creepier knowing he's still out there. Idk how they can make a sequel with the main bad guy dead
Yeah I'm curious about what angle they're gonna take
I imagine the sequel may have the Grabber’s ghost haunting Finn? That’s my guess
They kind of made a sequel in vhs 85 with the segment dreamkill making a direct connection to this film. So they do have a idea what the sequel may be
Being 'nerdy' is cute, don't lose that.
also I love how the grabber's mask works!! it's so unique and each mask & "stage" of his game has a different personality to it. I literally took notes associating every part
“ salt and pepper, tehe”
that part was actually so funny 😭
8:20 facts. The acting in this was impeccable.
That scene makes me cry everytime. And then TikTok uses it as an audio for dead animals. It’s just all around sad and tear jerking 😭
Excellent video, excellent channel alltogether I've been binge watching ! A big thank you from France !
Thank you! I really appreciate the support
I absolutely love how u tlk about movies. Have me like “oh yeah I didn’t think of it that way”😊
First time I saw this movie it was just fine to me. I just rewatched it on a whim last night and I freaking love this movie. Great retrospective.
I saw this movie with one of my best friends on a whim one summer day where we just decided to go to the movies and figured we'd see this new horror movie. We were both enthralled by this and disturbed. We had no idea what it was about, and it took us by complete surprise.
The scene showing Bruce's memories and young life up until he was kidnapped shook me and I realized I wasn't just watching some summer horror movie, but something more.
No sequel needed for The Black Phone, Bud. Its, for me a perfect gem that needs no embellishment.
It's already confirmed there's a sequel in production
Oh, crap.
@@johnharris721 yeah search it up. It releases October 2025 and starts filming this November in LA
You are literally the most handsome horror movie reviewer. 😍 Total swoon. Your commentary is so insightful and in depth. I absolutely love your content. ❤
Dude, Madeline being the actor for Gwen was crazy. There’s a Disney show called “The secrets of Sulfur Springs” and she plays the little sister to one of the main leads. Hearing her swear was so weird, and other people who watched the show first probably feel the same way
I think grabber and Fin also have shinning cause children said the phone called but they couldn't hear it only fin and grabber do 🤷🏼♀️
I completely agree with what you said about expository dialogue and I'll go even further to say that I feel like half the time, complaints about it just feel like the critic is letting everyone know that they noticed it. It's moreso signaling a sentiment of "look at me, I'm smart and know film stuff" or copying what they've heard other critics say than pointing out an actual flaw in the film. Sure, in an otherwise bad film, expository dialogue can stand out as another piece of the puzzle that doesn't quite fit to make a full picture, but in a competent film it's just a tool to get past the backstory and get to the good stuff.
This is one of those movies that always gets at the very least a tear out of me
ik it's unlikely but I wish the sequel would be like, a prequel going over the stories of the other ghost kids. they're so interesting,,
Another amazing video this and x were my favourite movies of 2022.
Thank you! Those are two great picks. There were so many gems
i watched this movie on a flight to Barcelona lol. anyway, i agree with your point about the dead kids being too in your face. i would have preferred them to stay voices, but if they HAVE to show them it would've been cool if they were just shadowy figures. kind of like the myths about shadow figures/black eyed children.
You need more recognition, you’re amazing
My mom and I took my little brother and cousin to see the minions movie. It was sold out and we ended up watching the black phone… that movie wasn’t for kids at all 😂 it was a good movie though
I clicked on this video because I watched your vid on Sinister and because I didn’t really like The Black Phone and wanted to hear your opinions. I liked what you had to say, and now I kind of want to watch it again. My favorite parts by far were the ones with Gwen and her visions. However I found myself unafraid most of the movie. I wanted to be scared for Finn, unsure that he would succeed, but I never was. I didn’t feel any doubt that Finn would be found alive/defeat the grabber which took most of the wind out of the sails of the movie for me.
Also, I didn’t like how explicit the dead children were, I agree with you that those scenes were tonally dissonant with the rest of the movie
Great video! I will be watching more of your stuff, just discovered you today.
100% why I think I didn’t really enjoy it / thought it was overhyped
Good shit man. Gone on a kick watching your stuff at work rn.
if they really do make a sequel it should be an anthology abt the idea of a phone like that and take a new approach instead of trying to do a new grabber
Evan, you started out hilariously with the nod to the Sinister movies, but less than 30 seconds in you bagged on us Gen Xers😮. Go easy on us, I think 80s and 90s kids who love horror might be a great niche.
That was just me having a go at all the people who seem obsessed with young people not knowing about obsolete technology. A huge portion of my viewership is GenX I’ve got nothing against ya’ll
Omg 😭💖 This is a channel that artually says the word 'suicide' - finally. I'm so sick of channels voluntarily choosing to cover heavy subject matter, and then using cutesy, TikToky ad-friendly euphemisms because "oops, actually saying what it is makes it *too* heavy, and that would mean - uhhh... children couldn't watch this"
Actually that’s not the reason. The reason is cuz UA-cam may demonetize or take down the video. That’s why with some words some channels may use another term to refer to the actual word or sensor that word.
It’s cause creators want money for their work, and if they say “screw it, I’ll say it anyways”, they get a strike. Too many strikes means your channel and all things associated with it, like videos, photos, posts, polls, etc., will be deleted. So there goes their entire career.
That kid really reminds me of Patrick Swayze from Road House
I love this movie, it’s a great story and quiet a few of the themes resonate with me a lot. Favorite horror filmx
Thanks for the video.
That’s not how you play naughty boy. 😂
I saw Spiderwyck Chronicles years ago. I remember liking it but beyond that, i don't remember much about it. Totally unrelated, i remember Highmore making me cry in Finding Neverland. Further unrelated saw Alian Romulus tonight, enjoyed it, liked David Jonsson a like, had a satisfying death, appreciated the nods to the original: the composure using cues from Goldsmith's score. Loved Wallfisch's score by the way. Great sound design, the "Get away from her, you bitch" was kind of laughable. Missed your live chat, will have to catch it next time, Evan.
I think this movie's fine, but I didn't really care much for it. I wanted it to be more serious and horror-focused, but the weird bits of comedy took me out. I felt like this movie struggled with choosing if it wanted to be a black comedy or serious horror.
What comedy? I don't remember it trying to be funny 😭
we need a dead meat collab
I really hope we get a prequel or a cross over with dbd
2:48 not me playing South Park rn
I really enjoyed this film. I found it to be effective and it kept my attention all the way through (which can be a real order). Horror movies should always remain simple with a few key elements getting a lot of deliberate development, and each element should move the plot forward. I think this movie did well with not adding a bunch of disjointed details. The only thing that was kinda useless was, as mentioned, the brother. But I think they added thst because of the real-life John Wayne Gacy case that inspired some of the elements of the Grabber.
I loved this movie. But off the ending i just don't understand how the sequel could work. This is the definition of a stand alone Movie
Hello. Does anyone know why The Grabber has such a strong reaction to Finney taking the mask off? Is this explored more in Joe Hill’s book? I was really curious into why.
The entire time I was watching this movie, I couldn't help but feel a Stephen King vibe (in a very good way). Well-written kids in harrowing situations. Now I know why.
also I feel like, the heavy handed dialogue sort of makes sense from the kids? like, kids are prone to stating the obvious at times, so it doesn't break the immersion badly.
This movie, in my opinion, is a rare example of the adaptation being better than the source material. Joe Hill wrote this back in 2004 really early on his career and naturally he’s only gotten better. My biggest criticisms would be it’s somewhat cliche and it’s too short, you’re left wanting more. since the movies are feature length you get much more character development, great performances from the actors, especially Ethan Hawk, and I think the addition of the mask and its design was really cool. A lot better than “killer clown kidnaps kid” just my 2 cents.
Ethan Hawke played a villain in Taking Lives didn't he? Maybe I remember that wrong lol
Yes!!
Huh...I thought the coked out brother was a really good addition. He wasn't pointless or comic relief to me but the different ways people can deal with trauma. The differences between how the brothers dealt with their father's abuse and how family members don't want to think their family can be a monster. All he went through to be in denial and that he could still even be in the house and put himself in a situation where he wouldn't notice.
I was quite let down by this film
Why? It pretty much gave you what the trailers promised. If you liked the trailers how didn't you like the movie?
I wonder if the grabber also had a 6th sense like Gwen. Also if they are fonna do a sequel I wonder if its going to be a prequel rather than a continuation of the first film.
7:41
walked out of this movie 30 minutes in because of how corny it was. Not surprised to hear the writer is related to stephen king lol
You missed out on one of the best horror movies of 2022. Also the guy who wrote the short story is related to Stephen King, not the movie. It’s quite different from the short
You didn't even give the movie a chance 😭 you missed out
You missed out solely on not liking the build up boooooo
@@Virgomorty the build up was a fart why would I stick around for poop
I didn't like this movie. I thought it was way over hyped
Worse than a sequel....they'll greenlight a prequel
The father character never convinced me and just seemed generic, and the movie got worse from there for me
I just can't. The mask sucks. I keep laughing every time I see it.
it surprised me agree with you that the exorcism of Emily rose was great itI
I like the movie and Ethan Hawke as an actor but calling the mask "iconic" is a bit of a stretch dont you think ?
Thats def a stretch. Only the people who have seen the movie would even recognize the mask. Yet people that have never seen a screen movie would automatically recognize ghost face mask
I will disagree with the exorcism of Emily rose. The lead actress was great but the rest of the movie was so generic and boring. Didn't find it scary at all.
The movie is good, but I think you exaggerated a little.
Honestly, really corny & really overrated movie. I would only watch it again if somebody else already had it on. I want to watch it again on my own. I think my biggest problem with it is that, after watching it, I felt like i just watched nothing happen for an hour and a half.
I didn’t think this was bad but really didn’t connect with me. I was offensively bored most of the movie.
I know they said it in the movie but why say the slur yourself and not play the clip instead…
Sorry which section are you referring to? This video was a while ago
@@RocklinGravesthe description of the character/scene at 5:35
@@evrisy Thank you for pointing that out... I apologize for any offense there. I don't think I was aware that the term was considered to be strong enough to avoid saying, so I appreciate that. I certainly would've avoided it if I'd made the video now, but I am sorry for having said it in the first place. Thanks again to both of you for pointing this out.
No way bro offended over that 💀
@@mightguy3118people are so weak nowadays. It's quite sad.
This movie sucked lol
Stephen King's son COPIED off of POSSUM(2018)
No he didn’t. The short story was published in 2005
I watched this movie when it came out just randomly, just decided to watch a movie and made it a scary one, and honestly I remember not really caring for it. Though it was kinda stupid honestly. But maybe I was just distracted lol.