Black Phone 2 - A Rather Different Kind But Still Terrifying Horror Sequel to that 2021 Hit Movie

I was not aware there was going to be this movie until I saw its trailer few weeks ago. My wife who is not a fan of horror movies somehow remembered the original and was OK to accompany me seeing this. All right then, let's get on with the film.

Brief Story Line

Four years after the events in the first movie, Finn (Mason Thames - How to Train Your Dragon live version, Moster Summer etc) was struggling emotionally with the aftermath while his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw - Outcast TV series, Toy Story 4 etc) was still having various dreams. This time it might involve brutal killings of some young children.

From what she could find out, Gwen decided to go to the Alpine Lake Christian camp where the missing children case occurred, together with her friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora) who had a crush on her. Though reluctant, Finn also went there to protect Gwen. They were later met by the supervisor of the camp Armando (Demián Bichir - Chaos Walking, Alien: Covenant etc) and his niece Mustang (Arianna Rivas - A Working Man etc). Things though gotten worse for Gwen when her nightmares became more frequent and affected her physically, while Finn started to get calls on the phone from the Grabber (Ethan Hawke - Leave the World Behind, The Guilty etc). 

So what would happen to all of them? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

To be honest, my wife and I did not remember everything about the first film except its premise and how it ended. So when we saw this movie, there were things that we recalled when they were mentioned. However, without having all the memory from its predecessor, we could still understand this without difficulty. In fact watching this sequel actually gave us a better understanding cause they provided background of certain things. On this I must applaud the intelligent writing of Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill (both were co-writer of the first movie) as they managed to expand the story without making it feel forced. Btw, Scott also directed the original plus few other hit horror movies like Sinister and its sequel etc. 

Just like in the first movie, this one also had plenty of scary scenes especially during the dreams Gwen was having. There was one particular scene in the camp where Gwen was having dream on her first night that was totally shocking for us. It was enhanced by the wonderful sound effect and the good sound system in the studio where we saw this. As the film continued though, it did not feel as terrifying as the focus was more on the things happening in the dreams and we could foresee how it would proceed. We actually felt it became a bit more like those Nightmare on Elm Street movies (you would understand if you have seen this one and obviously those films). 

The movie itself was quite long with 114 minutes including closing credits. There was no mid or post end credit scene just like the first (which was why I did not think there would be a sequel). With such ending, it would be a bit more challenging to make a sequel that could be linked to the Black Phone, although there would be other things to explore related to what Gwen and Finn experienced. So I would not be surprised if there would later be a third movie. The ending was pretty conclusive and quite satisfying for me and there was a touching scene before the end that affected my wife. 

The cast in general still did a good job here, but I did feel that Ethan Hawke was given less time to shine. Other than those I mentioned, the movie also had other support cast of Anna Lore (Final Destination: Bloodlines, Frankenstein, MD TV series etc) as the previous counselor Hope, Jeremy Davies (Lost TV series, Dogville etc) who reprised his role as Finn & Gwen's father Terence, Graham Abbey (The Border etc) & Maev Beaty as the couple working in the camp Kenneth & Barbara respectively. One funny thing was the fact that Miguel Mora also portrayed one of the victim in the first movie Robin (older brother of his new character Ernesto).

In the end this is still a scary horror movie. However while the original was thrilling and chilling, the sequel was more suspenseful especially in the second half. I liked the characters and their chemistry, especially the siblings and Ernesto and the smart writing. It was nice how there was still a bit of dry humor once or twice plus how the simple original story could have been expanded with logical background. It seems critics were quite impressed too while the box office performance could only be seen in the next few weeks. So if you like the first movie, I believe you would enjoy this sequel too. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars