Masked villains have been a main staple in the horror genre for aeons. From Michael Myers of ‘Halloween’ infamy, to the monstrous ‘Leatherface’ of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, and the many ‘Ghostface’ killers of the ‘Scream’ franchise, they have been terrifying audiences for decades. Behind a mask much can be concealed; an enemy without a face betrays nothing. No mercy. No vulnerability. No weakness. Perhaps this is why the impenetrable masked killer remains such an enduring character in the genre. ‘The Black Phone’, hitting cinemas this summer, upholds this tradition in chilling fashion.

Ethan Hawke reunites with 'Sinister' director, Scott Derrickson, for this eerie tale of child abduction and the paranormal. Set in Denver in the late 1970s, the story follows a community gripped by fear and paranoia following a spate of local teens mysteriously vanishing. Rumours begin to swirl that there is something sinister at work; black balloons are found at the last sighting of each child - serving as an ominous warning for the next potential victims. Children at school begin to talk of the ‘Grabber’, a menacing masked man, who abducts children, dragging them into his black van, never to be seen again.

Finny, played by Mason Thoms, is one such victim. After being drugged and abducted by the Grabber, he awakens to find himself locked in a dingy basement, containing nothing but a mattress and a disconnected black telephone. There begins a series of psychological games, as the Grabber begins to sadistically taunt the helpless Finny. In vain, Finny tries desperately to escape the fortified basement, but the task proves insurmountable. That is until the black telephone begins to ring.

The phone appears to be a portal to the supernatural; the missing children, killed by the Grabber, begin to communicate with Finny through the telephone, offering clues on how to escape the clutches of their callous killer. Finny’s sister Gwen, played by Madeleine McGraw, appears to have inherited psychic powers from her late mother. Her lucid dreams begin to unravel the mystery of Finny’s disappearance. Together with the undead children, she strives to find Finny and free him from certain death.

Not since the juggernaut that was 2018’s ’Hereditary’ has a horror film garnered such a flurry of acclaim. Perhaps, much like Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’, its combination of nostalgia and childhood endurance, has struck a chord with audiences. In one hauntingly beautiful scene, one of the dead children shadow boxes with Finny – coaching him for a battle with the Grabber, so that he may not meet the same fate.

Hawke shines, with his spine-tingling portrayal of the psychopathic Grabber, giving an exceptionally unhinged performance. Yet, it is the largely unknown cast of child actors, particularly Thoms and McGraw, who truly excel with such mature performances. The narrative of adolescent fortitude in the face of grave adult adversity is nothing new in Hollywood, but ‘The Black Phone’ manages to deliver the perfect cocktail of ‘good vs. evil’, with a large splash of frights for good measure.

3.5/5 Stars

The Black Phone is in cinemas now. For fans of ‘Sinister’ and ‘Stranger Things’.

Film Review: ‘The Black Phone’ - A New Horrifying Classic