The Black Phone is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson and written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, who both produced with Jason Blum. It is an adaptation of the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill.

Is The Black Phone considered a horror movie?

Parents need to know that The Black Phone is a horror movie about a kidnapped teen (Mason Thames) who gets supernatural help while trying to escape from his maniacal kidnapper.

What is so scary about The Black Phone?

And by turning the Grabber into a killer without apparent trauma, The Black Phone makes sure Finney's fate cannot be escaped by appealing to any kind of humanity. The idea that the Grabber could hide so well is scary, but the notion that there's no real motivation for his crimes is more terrifying.

Is The Black Phone elevated horror?

The Black Phone is not high-octane horror.

Is black phone too scary for kids?

It's quite effective. That said, there's still plenty of bloody violence, and a good deal of profanity, which will make most parents think twice before letting their teens watch this. For adult audiences with a tolerance for profanity and violence, The Black Phone is a capable horror thriller.

The Black Phone - Movie Review

Is The Black Phone scarier than Sinister?

The film received mixed reviews from critics but became a hit with audiences. On a $3 million budget, Sinister grossed $82 million at the box office, smashing all expectations for the film. Now, in an interview with Slashfilm, Hawke assures fans that The Black Phone is scarier than anything he's done before.

What is the scariest scene in black phone?

Is The Grabber a child molestor?

Ethan Hawke stars as a child molester called 'The Grabber'.

Why does The Grabber wear a mask?

Instead, The Grabber employs the mask as a sort of theater — the different Grabber mask variations each represent characters in a show he's putting on for himself and his victims. A few scenes in The Black Phone suggest yet another motivation for his mask: he uses it to hide from himself out of shame for his actions.

What did The Grabber do to his victims?

For reasons unknown, the Grabber abducts young boys and imprisons them in his basement unbeknownst to his brother. He would eventually kill the boys and bury the bodies in a house across the street. He had killed a total of 5 children, with Finney Blake's friends Bruce and Robin being his latest victims.

Can a 13 year old watch The Black Phone movie?

If they handle scares and gore well, and you don't mind them hearing salty language, they may enjoy The Black Phone. We wouldn't go younger than 14 for this one, however.

Is there any inappropriate scene in The Black Phone?

Images include a bloody face from getting continually punched and the bloody knuckles that did the damage. There is also a scene where a person is killed with an ax, and while it's very brief it's fairly graphic. There are multiple of scenes of bullying with kids hurting other kids and blood is present.

Who kills The Grabber?

The Black Phone ends with Finney brutally killing The Grabber and escaping his house, finding Gwen and the police waiting outside, before they reunite with their father.

Why is The Grabber shirtless?

“It wasn't in the script that he was shirtless but I said 'You know, I think it would be really deranged if he didn't have a shirt on' and he said 'Great, I'll do it,'” said Derrickson. “And that's a big thing for actors, how comfortable they are showing more of their body.”

What does The Black Phone symbolize?

The Black Phone explained that when Finney picks up the phone and all the children get their final say to their murderer, it's clear that they were the ones who orchestrated his death. The Black Phone, which is deeper than most realize, is emblematic of The Grabber's guilt much like his mask is emblematic of his shame.

What are the trigger warnings for The Black Phone?

The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, bloody images, language and some drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of bloody murders with one man being struck in the head by an axe, several fights between teenagers with a lot of blood shown, a teen boy fighting a man, a child being whipped ...

What mental illness does the grabber have?

He's a terrifying visage of trauma, and he's entirely unpredictable, as evidenced when director Scott Derrickson told TIME, "He really buries his moods behind the mask and, to me, there's almost some kind of multiple personality disorder going on there." That idea of multiple personalities existing within one body ...

How many victims did the grabber have?

The Black Phone's Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke, took six victims in the movie.

Why does The Grabber target boys?

This is likely why his victims are all young men, as he was a young man himself when he experienced abuse, and the "Naughty Boy" game is just a continuation of the abuse he endured as a child. He's placed himself in the power position he was unable to do in his younger years.

Is The Black Phone traumatizing?

From abusive parents to bullying in schools, there is a real depiction of childhood trauma in The Black Phone. These sequences are more unexpected, so they do leave an emotional impact due to the realness of the situation. Seeing a child be beaten by their abusive parent is not an easy image to take in.

What did Finney cut The Grabber with?

One of The Grabber's victims tells him that it's part of the “game” for The Grabber to beat his victims with a belt until they pass out. Finney uses a toy rocket ship to carve a huge gash in The Grabber's arm.

Is Black Phone Based on a true story?

Joe Hill Used Real Serial Killers as Inspiration

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hill explained that, although his story drew inspiration from real serial killers of the era, The Black Phone is not based on any actual case.

Who is the scary guy in The Black Phone?

Ethan Hawke As The Grabber

Ethan Hawke plays The Grabber in The Black Phone cast, a serial killer and amateur magician that is preying on a Colorado suburb.

Is the movie Black Phone evil?

That this is Hawke playing a figure of evil is one of the principal hooks of “The Black Phone.” Yet serial-killer films, or at least the good ones, tend to have a dark mystery to them. By the time Hawke shows up in “The Black Phone,” in an odd way we feel like we already know him.

Does The Grabber assault his victims?

The film, again, doesn't explicitly state that the Grabber's victims were sexually assaulted, but it calls upon the audience to fill in those details. The ghost victims describe being beaten, and the audience sees the Grabber sitting menacingly, shirtless, with belt in hand.