The Black Phone (2022)

I rarely get out to see new movies in the theater these days. I made a point of doing so for the new Joe Hill adaptation, The Black Phone.

I have the usual complaints about movie theaters and rude individuals. I got my ticket early, and of course you choose your seats in advance. I always get the back row these days, to prevent talkers from sitting behind me. I got to the auditorium and lo and behold people chose seats right by me.

I mean, really. Why do people need to be told to be considerate and allow for a courtesy seat or two between spoken-for places? This couple came on one side of me. He in a Korn "Still a Freak" tee shirt, and she wearing some kind of quasi-gothic attire. He was mumbling, but she spoke and cackled in a high, shrill voice. I finally gave up my place and relocated down front in the neck-ache rows.

Fucking Korn. It's a wonder these people haven't died from shame by now.

Other than that it was a good time at the movies.

The coming-of-age horror trope has been milked to death, mostly by writers and filmmakers vastly inferior to King, McCammon, Malfi, and Simmons. Unlike the endless genre appropriation of Stranger Things, Joe Hill brought some new elements to the well-trodden stereotype.

I liked The Black Phone quite a bit. Director Scott Derrickson did a nice job recreating the late seventies atmosphere. It wasn't overdone to the point of garish cliche. It all felt natural.

Hill's father called The Black Phone "Stand By Me in Hell". That's a good comparison. The young performers in this film are all excellent, and their strength drives the movie. It does hit most of the familiar notes. You've got the bullies, the drunken and abusive father, saintlike brother and sister, but it isn't another retread.

Ethan Hawke is very good in a multi-faceted role as a child abductor. There are hints that he is much worse than merely a kidnapper, but they aren't elaborated upon. Frankly, I am glad of it.

The supernatural elements of The Black Phone are handled well. Enough subtlety to allow a viewer's imagination to help forward the story, but it's not completely obtuse.

It was cool to see Tom Savini in the end credits as one of the mask creators. The Hawke character dons several different ones in the course of the film, and they are pretty creepy.

All in all, The Black Phone is no classic, but it's a smart, good film. We can always use more of these.

Written by Mark Sieber