Black Phone 2 is the highly anticipated follow up to 2021’s The Black Phone. Blumhouse’s surprise hit followed a serial killer known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a boy he captured named Finney (Mason Thames), and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) – Finney’s sister with psychic abilities. The last time we saw The Grabber; Finney strangled him with a telephone cord. What is death in a horror movie? It doesn’t mean anything. The Grabber cryptically tells Finney, “Dead is just a word.” 

Four years after the first film, Finney is struggling with the trauma of being kidnapped by The Grabber. Meanwhile, Gwen is having dreams/visions of missing boys at church camp named Alpine Lake. During her dreams, there is also a phone ringing like the one in the basement with Finney during the first film.  

Gwen and Finney learn their mother was a counselor at Alpine Lake Youth Camp and that is all Gwen needed to convince Finney to sign up to be counselors at figure out why she’s having visions of the camp and missing boys. Gwen, Finney, and a boy with a crush on Gwen named Ernesto (Miguel Mora) travel through a snowstorm to Alpine Lake and begin their investigation. They are sure this is somehow connected to The Grabber but unsure how.

With a runtime of less than two hours, the film attempts to pack a lot into the story. There’s the missing boys mystery, how their mother is wrapped up in this story, the other people at the camp, Finney fighting The Grabber, Gwen fighting The Grabber in her dreams, and a race against time to stop The Grabber from getting stronger. It’s a lot for a sequel when the first film was a straightforward slasher with some supernatural elements sprinkled in.  

Once the story picks up, the film quickly dives into Nightmare on Elm Street territory as Gwen keeps having dreams about missing boys and The Grabber is showing up like Freddy Krueger. Like the Elm Street series, Gwen starts to get physically hurt in the real world by what’s happening in her dreams. The only way to stop The Grabber is to find the missing boys. This pivot to a supernatural killer may be too big of a leap for some audiences. The Grabber is less menacing in these dream sequences than he was in the first film. The Grabber is wilder and more unhinged in this film, but it never feels like Gwen or Finney are in danger. Even the flashbacks to the missing boys is told through gritty 8mm film sequences that minimize how horrific those murders were – it’s a 10/10 for artistic expression and a 2/10 for how scares.

Despite some of the film’s faults, complicated plot devices, and eye rolling exposition, the film is wildly entertaining. Most of that comes from the setting – a group of people trapped in a blizzard fighting a serial killer. The most entertaining thing about this movie is Madeleine McGraw’s performance as Gwen. If you enjoyed how smart-mouthed and badass Gwen was in the first film, you’ll enjoy her portrayal in the sequel. Madeleine is undoubtedly the star of the film. Gwen is the character that connects all the dots and is the one who is up for the fight against The Grabber. As the film progresses, you see how Gwen processes fear, anger, sadness, and coming to grips with her newfound ability and the responsibility to use it.  

What happens to Finney and Gwen throughout the film is interesting and entertaining but not scary. There are out of order phones that ring, visions of dead boys, and cryptic conversations with The Grabber. It’s all very compelling and sometimes humorous, but never scary. In the first film, there was an uncertainty and mystery to The Grabber that kept you at the edge of your seat. This sequel has too much Elm Street DNA to feel original or even scary. Most horror fans know exactly how this film is going to play out.

Black Phone 2 is an entertaining sequel. It’s different from the first film and that may turn fans of the original off.  A film that should’ve been the start of a new horror franchise ends up being a story that doesn’t quiet turnover the way you’d hope. What the story adds in entertainment value to the franchise, it lacks the kills and thrills that made the original so much fun.

Grade: B-