The Black Phone Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

2. It's Surprisingly Funny In Parts

Even with the story's generally downcast vibe, Derrickson ensures to liberally pepper some unexpected comedy throughout.

In the early going this stems from Gwen's cheeky teasing of her brother, and later both Finney's surreal interactions with the Grabber's victims and the aggressive weirdness of the Grabber's own unhinged mannerisms.

Black comedy is firmly the order of the day here, and while you likely won't be doubled over with laughter throughout, there's a decent spicing of mordant humour to prevent things from getting unremittingly bleak.

While comedy could threaten to derail the tone of a movie with a subject this innately serious, Derrickson and Cargill prove once again that they know how to shape flourishes of mood that compliment rather than undermine each other.