Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of no use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer's previous victims. And they are dead-set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney.... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of no use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer's previous victims. And they are dead-set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney.
Leave your thoughts about The Black Phone.
| RogerEbert.comPeyton RobinsonStylistically, the film is nostalgic, reminiscent of vintage photographs and the era of striped baby tees, flared jeans, and The Ramones. Warm browns and oranges, film grain, and filtered light flood the screen. But this idyllic '70s suburbia is corrupted by Derrickson’s horror. |
| Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerIt's the period details that really make The Black Phone ring. It's not the set dressing, or the costumes, or the hairstyles (although Jeremy Davies does sport a fantastic muttonchops-mullet merger as Gwen and Finney's alcoholic, abusive father). It's that grimy sense of the era, that way that kids felt left to their own devices. This is an Amblin adventure drenched in R-rated fear. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperBased on a short story from Joe Hill and directed with tone-perfect style by Scott Derrickson, who wrote the screen adaptation with his “Doctor Strange” writing partner C. Robert Cargill, The Black Phone is a hauntingly effective, perfectly paced, consistently chilling and wickedly warped horror gem. |
| Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzThe film only works if Ethan Hawke is scary. And he is. |
| SlashfilmEric VespeFor my money, The Black Phone is more complete and effective than Derrickson's previous horror movie "Sinister" and is the first feature adaptation of Joe Hill's work that demands more big-screen Joe Hill adaptations. |
| Original-CinThom ErnstThe Black Phone doesn’t disappoint, although it delivers in ways unexpected. And though it takes time, the payoff is worth the effort put into packing up old expectations and unpacking new. But fair warning: The Black Phone is not the easy-to-digest horror film you might think. |
| IndieWireMarisa MirabalThe Black Phone is a succinct and stressful terror blanketed with themes of friendship, family, and inventive portrayals of resiliency. |
| Film ThreatBobby LePireIt’s scary, intense, and moody. Derrickson’s first film since Doctor Strange (the first one, the good one) is one of the best horror films in a very long time. |
| IGNAmelia EmberwingThe Black Phone mixes the supernatural with relatable horrors in ways that will leave you both terrified and hopeful. |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe Black Phone is as solid a horror film as has come out post-pandemic and brings back memories of when “horror” meant more than an assembled sequence of shocks and blood-soaked clichés. |
