The Grabber seems to have put most of his creative energy towards his facewear. There’s nothing terribly distinctive or elaborate about his methods, which amount to locking kids away in his dungeon, taunting them with condescending remarks, and then just kind of waiting for them to mount a feeble escape attempt, after which he can justify doing his grisly thing.
Much of the movie takes place in that aforementioned dungeon: a soundproofed basement with a dirty mattress, a single high window, and the rotary device of the title. It’s here that 13-year-old Finney is dismayed to discover that he’s joined the gallery of kids with their names and faces plastered on posters all over town.
The premise is reasonably clever and gripping. It comes from a short story by Joe Hill, son of none other than Stephen King. The Grabber’s hunting grounds are the northern suburbs of Denver circa ’78, all bell bottoms, FM radio hits and rabbit-ear TVs. But any viewer up on their tales of missing kids in deceptively idyllic small-town America could be forgiven for mistaking this real place for one of King’s haunted Maine burgs.
is ruthlessly efficient — a lean, mean, 30-page survival yarn, King-ish mostly in its punchy prose. But in expanding this short story into a feature-length movie, Derrickson fatally slackens the tension. His script, co-authored with regular collaborator C.
Derrickson, returning to his genre roots after a brief toil in the Marvel content mill, is capable of tauter entertainment. A decade ago, he corralled both Hawke and Ransone into, a much more effective Stephen King riff about children imperiled by a malevolent stalker. That horror movie had real ideas about the divided priorities of its protagonist, a writer endangering his family for the sake of his breadwinning work.
Don’t pay this awful review any attention. It was very good from start to finish. Dude probably didn’t even watch it, based on the integrity this rag has now…
Also loved the nuanced dynamics of the two kids with their alcoholic father and an absent/ dead mom. Heartbreaking..
Super loved it!! The victims band together to save the latest kidnapped kid. And the BLACK PHONE is crucial to his escape.. sorry. But watch the movie, it's super good and fresh.
'the black phone' is creepy af who you gon believe -- a journalist who pro'lly watched on a computer or real moviegoers you'll scream twice, fam see it
This movie might be ‘fresh’ and exciting for viewers that didn’t grow up watching 70s slashers as they came out. I’ll see it w my 20 yo son and compare notes.
Looks like 'The Gargoyles.' TV made movie of the 1970s.
I don't think that's a proper use of emergency services.
This must mean it's phenomenal
Really? Because watching the trailer alone made me nearly pee my pants.
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Source: DigitalTrends - 🏆 95. / 65 Read more »