The Black Phone: Not your usual Evil Clown (he describes himself as a part-time magician), the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) is scary, black top hat, half-face clown make up and a devil mask, rives a black van, uses a bunch of black balloons as a prop in his abduction of boys. Filmed in faded tones to give it the feel of it's 1978 setting we see flyers for missing children as well as supposed home movies and stock film from the era. The film also shows some savage bullying, Finney (Mason Thames) is targeted by school bullies but is defended by Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) who beats up older bullies. When Robin is abducted the bullies target Finney again and also batter his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) who comes to his aid. Finney is then snatched but a black phone in his basement prison mysteriously rings, he is contact with the ghosts of the lost boys. Gwen also has a psychic streak, she dreams about the abductions, sees details of them. This attracts the attention of police and annoys her alcoholic father.
Hawke exudes raw evil in his portrayal of the Grabber, he sets traps to give himself an excuse to beat the boys, the lack of jump scares is more than compensated for by his very existence as a captor. There are quite a few scary scenes as the ghosts appear like zombies or just with blood dripping from cut throats. Finney's time in the cellar seems to be one log period of terror even if it;s interspersed by his attempts to escape. Not a folm you will forget in a hurry. Great performances from Hawke and the young actors. Directed and Co-Written by Scott Derrickson (Sinister) from a short story by Joe Hill. 9/10.
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