My Buddy, Mr J. Christopher Wilson is reviewing some movies. He has agreed for us to post his reviews here.
“The Black Phone” involves two different types of horror: realistic child abductions, and clairvoyance. Typically, we see abduction stories in police-centered detective movies. The excitement comes from the suspense of the crime solution in the nick of time.
But not so in “The Black Phone.” The twist on this horror is that it focuses on the 13-year-old male victim. The police are involved, but they are secondary characters. The boy and his sister, the clairvoyant, are the stars in this 1970 ghostly suspense, and it works very well.Several whys are left open—wide open—which can be a stumbling block for some viewers. I didn’t mind, but my daughter did. Why is the killer doing what he’s doing? His motivations are NOT sexually motivated, which surprised me. Other than that, we have no idea what drives or doesn’t drive The Grabber, as the papers have dubbed him. I’m not sure it matters, or rather, I suggest you not let that bother you. The lens of this camera is squarely on the abducted boy in a soundproof basement with a black rotary phone on the wall, his younger clairvoyant sister, and the spirits of The Grabber’s former abductees.The motivation of the spirits and the beautiful sibling relationship are where the story depths and suspense lie. Not a slasher like “Saw.” Not a crime drama like “Silence of the Lambs.” Not a ghost story like “The Sixth Sense.” No. “The Black Phone” is its own beast with its own story to tell.
Grade: A-Available on Peacock
