Black Phone 2 (2025) Film Review: Lumbering horror sequel is a slog to wade through

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Taking place four years following the events of the first film, Finn Blake (Mason Thames), now seventeen, struggles with his life after his kidnapping and his eventual killing of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke).

Meanwhile, his gifted sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), begins having disturbing dreams where she appears to witness the stalkings and brutal murders of three boys at a secluded winter camp.

She is also receiving calls from the black phone, encouraging the troubled siblings to travel to Alpine Lake to uncover the mystery behind her visions and hopefully defeat the evil child killer for good.

Director Scott Derrickson returns to pen the sequel to The Black Phone (2021), whose other notable credits include Sinister (2012) and Doctor Strange (2015). The screenplay was a collaborative effort between Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Joe Hill and all of the key cast members from the first film return for the follow-up.

The titular black phone makes its return, as a now grown-up Finney (Thames) is forced to face his fears and help his sister, Gwen (McGraw) confront re-surfacing nightmares...

The sequel takes on a more horror-centric, supernatural identity as opposed to the arguably high-stakes thriller aspect of the original movie. This is a very dark, bleak sequel which is unflinching and largely extreme regarding its graphic depictions of violence towards children. The choice to actually show viewers the full, unblemished visuals of a young life being diminished so brutally is certainly a bold one, and it does raise the question as to whether this creative decision is truly warranted here.

The movie does suffer from an overall weak screenplay, with a predictably generic narrative, a crawling pacing which never quite manages to find its footing, and poorly integrated attempts at comedy to help lighten the heavy, serious tone. There is a huge lack of energy and momentum to the film, with stilted, awkward dialogue and a general sense of something severely lacking in the writing department, which always plagues the picture.

Many of the 'scares' fall flat due to repetitiveness, familiarity and an unintended goofiness, such as characters being thrown around a room, or the Grabber himself gliding across a frozen lake on skates to take his revenge, looking more like a competitor in an ice skating contest, rather than a deranged serial killer and child snatcher.

Unfortunately, the writers do way too much hand-holding for the audience, not trusting in their perceptiveness and intelligence to recognise plot developments and revelations by themselves. Many plot beats are literally pointed out by a character, and scenes are unnecessarily padded out with no rhyme or reason.

The film's story and supernatural angle take much inspiration from other works of the genre, which are much more successful in their attempts to frighten and unsettle viewers. The isolated, wintry setting is taken straight out of the chilling Overlook Hotel from The Shining (1980) and a malevolent entity attacking people in their dreams, with injuries physically manifesting in the real world, plays a direct comparison to Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

The film presents direct call-backs to imagery and themes of the first film, whilst pivoting the focus onto Finney's younger sister, who must uncover the mystery behind the murder of three boys

There is nothing fresh or original on offer here, re-treading familiar ground and struggling to find a consistent tone.

Scott Derrickson does demonstrate an interesting visual aesthetic during Gwen's enigmatic, intense dream sequences, incorporating a grainy, film quality to the picture, which clearly distinguishes from the real world. Also, it is worth mentioning that none of the movie's poor writing is exacerbated by the performers.

Madeleine McGraw's Gwen is the driving force of the narrative this time around, and she definitely steps up to take on the pivotal leading role, balancing the pure terror, devastation and inner strength of her character very well. Mason Thames, who made a remarkable impression in the first film, is more of a supporting player here; however, this time he is experiencing a striking personality change as anger and violence lash out to mask the fear and trauma he lives with every day following the events of his kidnapping and tremendous escape.

Whilst by no means perfect, the original film earned its critical and commercial success with a tightly crafted screenplay, which capitalised on its simple premise and built up a solid, intriguing mystery thread surrounding the nature of the ominous phone calls Finney receives whilst being held captive in the cellar and what The Grabber's next move was going to be. It was easy to root for a thirteen-year-old boy to use his wits and intelligence to overcome his captor and there were lots of twists and turns to keep viewers engaged throughout.

Madeleine McGraw's Gwen is relentlessly pursued by Ethan Hawke's The Grabber in her nightmares; will she and her brother be able to defeat their tormentor once and for all?

In comparison, this sequel attempts to expand on the lore of its predecessor and heighten the visceral horror of a psychotic child murderer's violent acts; however, its screenplay is muddled, and the script is dull. Despite the actors clearly giving it their all, Black Phone 2 is a disappointing, unneeded follow-up to a film which ended so definitively and was never really crying out for a sequel in the first place. There is no real finesse or weight behind this one, and it is not worth the cost of a cinema ticket admission.

Maybe check it out on streaming if you are a fan of the first film; however, this one is probably better left lurking in the frozen, barren land it originates in.

Check out the trailer for Black Phone 2 (2025) below, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!