20 Horror Movies That Revealed TOO MUCH
1. Black Phone 2
Black Phone 2 is a decent if relatively unnecessary sequel which at least offered up a literally chilly new setting and reinvented the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) as a Freddy Krueger-esque dream-faring monster. But it's also a classic example of a horror sequel which needlessly over-explains its villain's past, while committing the most egregious sin of creating a convoluted link between him and our embattled heroes.
Revealing that the Grabber's first killing spree took place at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957 is one thing, but it's also revealed that Finney (Mason Thames) and Gwen's (Madeleine McGraw) mother Hope (Anna Lore) didn't kill herself as they were led to believe. Rather, Hope, who worked with the Grabber at the camp as a teenager, was actually killed by him, who staged her death to look like a suicide.
This ultimately felt like a desperate attempt to raise the story's emotional stakes, as if the Grabber isn't horrifying enough already. But just like Star Wars has proven so many times over the years, this everyone-is-connected brand of storytelling has a tendency to come off as lazy, forced, and woefully unimaginative.