Hold on tight, horror fans! The Grabber is back, and this time, his victims are older, tougher, and the stakes are higher than ever before. But why this shift in prey? "Black Phone 2" isn't just a rehash; it's a deliberate escalation into a darker, more violent world.
Remember the chilling success of Scott Derrickson's 2022 hit, "The Black Phone"? It wasn't just a win for the horror genre, but a shot in the arm for moviegoing in general, proving that a well-crafted, self-contained story could still captivate audiences. The film, adapted from Joe Hill's short story, initially seemed content to stand alone. But in Hollywood, success breeds sequels, and "Black Phone 2" has arrived, and according to /Film's Rafael Motamayor, it's surprisingly good, calling it "Dream Warriors good."
But here's where it gets controversial... Director Scott Derrickson, along with co-writer C. Robert Cargill, made a conscious choice to age up the victims. In the original, Finney Blake, played by Mason Thames, was a vulnerable 13-year-old. "Black Phone 2" jumps forward four years, placing Finney in high school. Derrickson told SFX Magazine that he wanted to explore the emotional complexities of adolescence, believing that this setting required a more intense and aggressive approach.
"It requires a different tone than a middle school coming-of-age supernatural movie. You just invariably are going to need to be more violent, and more aggressive and maybe more shocking, to escalate aspects of the movie beyond what the first movie did, because a good portion of the audience, the teenagers who grew up really loving 'The Black Phone,' they're older now."
In essence, Derrickson saw the high school setting as a natural way to raise the stakes. But there's more to it than just that.
The director explicitly acknowledged the influence of the "Terrifier" films, Damien Leone's ultra-gory slashers, which Mike Flanagan has even dubbed "megaslashers." These films have pushed the boundaries of on-screen gore in mainstream cinema, and Derrickson recognized that the audience for "Black Phone 2" had likely been exposed to this level of violence.
And this is the part most people miss... Derrickson felt a responsibility to deliver a film that met the expectations of a more desensitized audience. "There's certainly more intensity and more gore. We were rated R, and one of the things we were rated R for was gore. There's no gore in the first movie at all." This commitment to upping the ante was so strong that Derrickson even delayed production to ensure his actors were the right age. During the delay, he directed "The Gorge" starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller.
But the shift to older victims isn't just about gore and violence. "Black Phone 2" delves into more mature themes. Finney, now 17, grapples with the trauma of his past abduction. He turns to marijuana to cope, but his anger simmers beneath the surface. This internal struggle adds a layer of complexity to the story, making it more than just a simple horror movie.
Derrickson himself had a personal stake in telling this more mature story. He wanted to revisit the characters and explore how they had changed since their harrowing experience. "I loved the actors, these kids really put their hearts into it. It was really interesting reconnecting with them, just seeing who they had become as people. The change that you go through between middle school and high school may be one of the biggest, most dramatic changes you go through in your lifetime, and I was really interested in who these characters have become, having gone through something so extraordinary."
He aimed to create a film that worked as a companion piece to the original, delving deeper into the emotions of the characters. Stephen King's positive review suggests that Derrickson succeeded in his vision.
Is it possible that by focusing on older victims and increased gore, "Black Phone 2" risks alienating fans of the original's more suspenseful, psychological horror? Or is this a necessary evolution to keep the franchise relevant and engaging for a modern audience? What do you think? Do you agree with Derrickson's decision to increase the violence and target an older demographic? Share your thoughts in the comments below! "Black Phone 2" is in theaters now.
