The Black Phone is the only other movie, other than Doctor Strange, that I’ve seen from director Scott Derrickson, who I really appreciate as a filmmaker due to his outspoken faith and Christianity. This film tells the story of a young boy named Finney, played by the up-and-coming star Mason Thames, who happens to be one of the victims of a child kidnapper known as the Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke, who is kept in the basement of his house. The core concept of the film is that there is a phone that rings every once in a while that allows Finney to talk to previous victims who are out to make sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Right away, this is one of those concepts that grabs your attention simply for how unique and clever it is. As far as I know, there really isn’t a horror film out there with a concept like this, so right away, this stands out as one of the more different horror films I’ve ever seen. I think that the concept is not only interesting in and of itself, but the way it actually plays out in the story is as well. It’s definitely more of a supernatural story, with some faith elements that are put in there just a little bit, particularly when it comes to Finney’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), and I thought they were done rather well.

I never usually get scared in the traditional sense with horror movies, but I can absolutely get tense in the “edge of your seat” kind of way, and The Black Phone definitely succeeds at doing that for me. It has a very eerie atmosphere, even outside of the basement, where the main character spends the majority of the time, and it kind of has this creepy retro look to it (it does take place in the 1970s, after all), where I don’t think many other decades could have captured this specific atmosphere. The whole movie, even outside of that, is intense, though, because you already know what’s coming before Finney gets kidnapped, and after he does, you’re worried about when the Grabber is going to show up, especially when Finney is trying to figure out ways to escape or is talking on the phone, or what the Grabber is going to eventually do to Finney.

Speaking of the Grabber, Ethan Hawke gives a surprisingly subtle yet extremely unsettling and memorable performance here. He turns what could easily be a very predictable story, and in some ways, maybe it is, into one that definitely is full of surprises. You never know what to expect with his character, or what he’s done or going to do.

The child performances are also some of the best you can expect today, and they’re really good overall. Mason Thames, who plays the main character, Finney, is great in this movie (I really bought most of his emotions), and I’m glad he’s getting more roles with films such as the new How to Train Your Dragon and, of course, the sequel to this movie. However, the standout would definitely be the young actress who plays Gwen. As I said, Mason Thames was really good, but you could still definitely tell that this was one his his early roles, whereas the actress that played Gwen was even every bit as good and memorable as Ethan Hawke. I really liked what they did with her character in the story as well, though I won’t get into specifics, as it could definitely be seen as a spoiler.

My one mixed thing with the film would have to be the plot conveniences of the story. I get that they are part of the premise anyway, with the kids on the phone giving tips to Finney, as well as the nature of Gwen as a character, but it’s still there, and I could still see it bothering people. This is my second viewing of this film, and I still don’t really know how to feel about it, but I wouldn’t say it dramatically hurt my experience, which is why it’s not a negative for me.

When it comes to plot conveniences, though, it does definitely turn into a negative in the third act, particularly the climax. This is really hard to talk about without giving away anything because it is the ending after all, but some of the choices that were made were not only plot conveniences, but really stretched my believability a bit, mainly with Finney. It’s not atrocious by any means whatsoever, but I definitely have to mention it. The actual ending itself, however, I found to be pretty satisfying both on a story and an emotional level.

It also attempts a rather poignant storyline with the father of Finney and Gwen that deals with heavy topics like trauma, depression, alcohol addiction, and abuse, but unfortunately, it never really goes very far. It’s not super prominent throughout the runtime, and so when it tries to go for an emotional scene towards the end, it doesn’t really work. I really wish that this had sort of been more a part of the story than it actually was, as it could have added the emotional impact to the film that I think it definitely would have benefited from.

I’m not one of those people who are crazy about this movie, but I still absolutely enjoyed it on both viewings, and am excited to see where it all goes in the sequel, as I really don’t know a whole lot about it, and it’s also not one of those obvious sequels, either, which may or may not hurt it.