10 Dumbest Decisions In Recent Horror Movies
2. Stopping To Help A Creepy Stranger - The Black Phone
One of the more basic rules that parents attempt to drill into the seemingly thick skulls of their children, is "do not talk to strangers".
Within the context of such a basic golden rule, it seems fair game to assume that this saying extends to creepy individuals who just happen to conveniently spill all their shopping at your feet before offering to show you a magic trick. Just ask the unfortunate gentleman impaled with a pencil in 2008's The Dark Knight - in cinema, nothing good ever happens after someone offers to show you a magic trick.
Unfortunately for The Black Phone's central protagonist Finney, these rather basic preconceptions appear to have gotten lost in the ether. As Ethan Hawke's Grabber prepares to spring his exceedingly obvious trap, Finney enthusiastically agrees to witness our ominous "magician's" trick - making the connection between the sinister black balloons in the back of the man's van and the spate of abductions in the area approximately an eon too late.
After a brief struggle, Mason Thames' lead is stuffed into the back of the van and carted off to the soundproofed basement where he spends the rest of the film. It seems harsh to say that Finney had that coming, but he couldn't have made it much easier for the Grabber if he had trussed himself up and teleported into the basement.