31 Horror Movies You Must Watch This October 2022
15. The Black Phone
Scott Derrickson's (Sinister, Doctor Strange) The Black Phone perhaps fell slightly short of the foaming hype, yet nevertheless delivered a taut and brilliantly acted suspense yarn well worth your time.
Adapted from a 2004 short story penned by Stephen King's son Joe Hill, The Black Phone offers up a tantalising concept - of an abducted teenager (Mason Thames) using a haunted telephone to communicate with the killer's (Ethan Hawke) prior victims - and mostly makes good on it.
The devil truly is in the details here, in terms of its outstanding production design, Derrickson's keen instinct for crafting palpable tension, and the richly crafted characters.
Ethan Hawke is electric in a rare villainous role, though it's young Madeleine McGraw who categorically steals the show as the kidnapped Finney's precocious sister Gwen.
The Black Phone is out now.