Black Phone 2 – Movie Review

By: Dominic La-Viola

One of the Best Horror Films of the Year! Better Than Sex!

Calling Black Phone 2, the best horror movie of the year, is nothing to snub your nose at. The year has given us some rather great “horror” films. Including grow pleasures such as Weapons and Sinners, along with some lower-budget films such as Bring Her Back. 

Yet none of them are on the same level as Black Phone 2, nor do they truly capture the tone and essence of the horror genre in the same light. As of now, this is the best horror film of the year, with the only real competition for the number one spot being Frankenstein. 

Sinners was a great film but played as more of a period piece drama, where vampires showed up at the end. As amazing as the film was, people will endlessly argue its place in the genre. The fact of the matter is, it’s a great film but not a great horror film.

The same could be said about Weapons, a great film. Although when put into the horror genre, it falls short. Not as a film but as a horror film. It’s without question a. Psychological thriller with horror elements, which are usually blocked out by the thrilling side of the storytelling.

  Black Phone 2 not only stays true to the roots of horror but creates a fun, engaging, and traditional horror film. It also elevates the horror genre by truly utilizing other aspects of filmmaking to elevate the film.

The choice of editing style and cinematography truly separates this film from all the others in its class. Not to mention the frame ratio Dickerson uses to not only slow the shot but to heighten the sense of intensity and ever-looming fear that ultimately lurks in the shadows. 

Color grading the dream sequences is truly masterful, giving the viewer the knowledge of the alternate reality, all while also pairing it with a spectacular score. The perfect combination for sending shivers down the spines of its viewers. 

Nevertheless, none of these techniques, which are used to elevate and intensify the experience of the film, take away from the film’s true form. A horror story. One that is brilliantly penned by Scott Dickerson and his long-time writing partner, C. Robert Cargil. Who co- wrote films like Sinister, The Black Phone, Doctor Strange, and Sinister 2. 

Speaking of which, the script is without question the backbone of what makes this movie work. For without it, all the other aspects that make this film great wouldn’t matter.

Taking elements from the horror genre that we have seen before, but using them in  a new light, crafting something new yet familiar is part of the brilliance of the story. I absolutely lover the Nightmare on Elm Street 3 tie-in, and how the Grabber comes back from hell, in dreams. 

The shining reference in which both Flynn and his sister have the gift, just as their mother had it. Now it’s not the same as The Shining, and doesn’t replicate it close enough to mimic it, yet the inspiration is there. 

Same thing with A Nightmare on Elm Street references; it gives off a Nightmare on Elm Street 3 vibe completely. Taking the aspect that she can fight back in her dreams, while also using the notion that burying the bones is the key to the power. Except in this, it’s the victims’ bones and not the monster. 

What works in this film is what works across all great horror films, and just great films in general. Taking what has worked and what people love and building off that. The idea that everything needs to be completely original and there should be no trace of what came before is how you get messy, mushy films that took a leap it was never going to make. Overextending themselves by trying to reinvent the wheel instead of simply modifying it. 

Overall, some may try to say that the references and callbacks to some of the greatest horror films ever made are cheap and unoriginal. 

Yet I would not only disagree, but call them out for not watching enough movies, for Sinners. A film that is being called by the masses as one of the best and most original horror films in years. Simply put, it is nothing more than a period piece remake of From Dusk Till Dawn. Which many film fanatics have pointed out online.

Overall, this is a 5/5 star. A film in which I shall use this rating scale, for this one time and one time only. In honor of the film’s co-writer. 

Final rating – Better Than Sex