The Black Phone
2022 · Directed by Scott Derrickson
Original language: English
- horror
- thriller
The story
Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
What it’s like
Grimy 1970s suburban daylight gives way to a sealed, sickly-yellow basement lit by a single bare bulb, and the film keeps returning to that small concrete room with patient, claustrophobic framing. Its palette is muted: faded browns, wintry greys, and the ugly glare of a masked killer's hardware-store menace. Scott Derrickson paces the dread slowly, leaning on long holds, sudden silences, and the eerie ring of an old rotary phone to build tension rather than relying on constant gore. Sound design does much of the work, with the landline's crackle and the voices from the dead cutting through an otherwise airless hush. The mood is bleak and tense, with flickers of sibling warmth between Finney and his younger sister Gwen that offer some relief. Violence is present and sometimes sudden, including child abduction, threatened abuse, and brutal moments of killing, though much is implied rather than shown in full. It suits a late-night watch alone for viewers who want supernatural horror with real emotional stakes, and it is not for anyone seeking something gentle.
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