‘The Black Phone’ review: Ethan Hawke rips and roars through this horror gem

Scott Derrickson

’s "The Black Phone" is a smart, feverish horror film that will particularly appeal to teenagers. It follows in the footsteps of "Stand By Me" and "It" when Finney , an adolescent baseball player living in North Denver in 1978, begins his summer playing ball games against kids like Bruce , teenagers who by the fall will move from competitors to allies in a desperate fight for survival.

It’s a movie where teens find few saviors in the adults who surround them; they are left to settle their own scores and must find a morsel of courage in their unforgiving small town. You’re never quite sure why a scene is funny or terrifying, or if you’ve seen a story like this a million times before. And yet, "The Black Phone" harks to a vintage sensory memory, when your parents warned you what could happen if you wander too far away.

Adapted by Derrickson and Robert Cargill from Joe Hill’s short story of the same name, "The Black Phone" doesn’t try to reinvent the horror wheel. Similar to Stephen King’s method of storytelling , the narrative roots itself in Finny’s troubled homelife. His father , an out of control alcoholic still grieving his wife’s death by suicide, takes his rage out on Finney and his defiant sister Gwen .

Lately, in her visions, however, Gwen can see a black van and black balloons. It’s a description that immediately raises suspicions among the local police. A rash of kidnappings of children remains unsolved with no bodies or any other trace of them turning up. The only clues at the police’s disposal involve black balloons found at the crime scenes. For a time, the abductions barely faze Finney. He has his own demons at school in the form of bullies.

Entertainment Entertainment Latest News, Entertainment Entertainment Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Why ‘The Black Phone’ Director Scott Derrickson Returned to Horror After ‘Doctor Strange’Ahead of the premiere of 'The Black Phone,' we spoke with the filmmaker about his fondness for filtering terror through a Super 8 lens, the creation and design of his killer’s mask, and whether the horror genre offers more freedom than franchise filmmaking
Source: thedailybeast - 🏆 307. / 63 Read more »

‘The Black Phone’ Director Scott Derrickson Reveals a Last-Minute Change to the End'A good director always has an antenna up trying to hear what this movie really wants to be,' the filmmaker says about listening to what the movie needed. rollthetape dailies SAGAFTRA still writing as they go along dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage payattention contactorder EXCELLENT last minute decision the ending was some ass, the police saving the day part couldve been left out because that’s simply unrealistic plus they sucked throughout the rest of the movie. the sister’s visions and him beating the grabber’s ass was enough
Source: THR - 🏆 411. / 53 Read more »