Warning: This text incorporates spoilers for Black Cellphone 2.
It’s time to place in your ice skates and slide right down to your nearest cinema, as a result of Black Cellphone 2 is now in theaters. The much-anticipated sequel to 2021’s shock sleeper hit The Black Cellphone, this go-around options The Grabber returning to terrorize Finney and Gwen Blake once more, however this time as a villainous specter as an alternative of a flesh and blood adversary.
The film has gone over nicely with critics after its Unbelievable Fest premiere, with IGN’s Matt Donato saying in his 7/10 assessment that the sequel is a “contemporary reinvention of conventional slasher tropes.” By all accounts, it’s a very good time on the films that’s certain to fulfill horror followers hungry for brand spanking new thrills, and seems to be one other winner for longtime horror director Scott Derrickson.
Nevertheless, like with a lot of Derrickson’s earlier efforts, he turns in a stable movie, however not a fantastic one. Watching Black Cellphone 2 crystallizes what its director does nicely and what he’s struggled with over the course of his profession, and is maybe probably the most cogent instance of why Derrickson has turn into the patron saint of “fairly good” horror films. Let’s check out why Black Cellphone 2 simply misses out on being the subsequent nice horror basic.
Skating to Success
In some ways, Black Cellphone 2 is a step up from its predecessor. The 2021 unique was a stable entry that admirably balanced drama and scares, and created a contemporary horror icon in Ethan Hawke’s The Grabber. It was additionally a film that tied up just about all of its unfastened ends the primary time round: Finney Blake (Mason Thames) efficiently kills The Grabber in his remaining escape try and reunites along with his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) on the finish. There was no apparent path for a sequel to go. Provided that the film was based mostly on a standalone quick story by author Joe Hill, this is sensible. However The Black Cellphone was an enormous hit for Blumhouse, pulling in over $160 million worldwide and turning into one of the vital well-known horror movies of the 2020s thus far, which means a sequel was doubtless an inevitability.
Black Cellphone 2 capitalizes on the unique’s pretty definitive conclusion by taking the collection in a brand new path, doubling down on the supernatural conceit by having The Grabber return as a ghost in the identical means his victims did final time round. The villain is now the one calling Finney by the titular cellphone. Stalking his enemies as an axe-wielding illusion doesn’t simply give the sequel a contemporary hook, nevertheless it is sensible as an extension of the story because the speaking ghosts and Gwen’s psychic powers have been already launched within the first movie. Derrickson makes use of this to make his filmmaking extra dreamlike for a lot of key sequences, which is the place his acumen as a visible storyteller actually shines. Ingesting within the majestic snowscapes and surreal imagery is certainly one of Black Cellphone 2’s greatest pleasures, blowing The Grabber’s drab concrete basement from the unique out of the water.
Whereas Finney’s character arc culminated with him lastly studying to face up for himself by defeating a serial killer, the sequel is extra Gwen’s story. Right here, she involves phrases with the complete extent of the powers she inherited from her mom whilst they put her in hurt’s means due to The Grabber’s capacity to assault her on the astral aircraft. This can be a good transfer not simply because it offers a special character an opportunity to shine, nevertheless it makes full use of the style shift by permitting wholly new takes on the horror sequences. When Gwen is attacked by a foe others can’t see, it makes her come throughout as remoted from the dwelling forged on the similar time her powers join her with the useless, together with her mom. But though there’s a lot to reward, Black Cellphone 2 stumbles in a serious space, particularly a script that doesn’t do justice to the movie’s finest inventive decisions.
On Skinny Ice
Black Cellphone 2 is co-written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, longtime collaborators who return from the primary movie. It’s laborious to say whether or not they’re equally chargeable for the script’s issues, however the writing is Black Cellphone 2’s greatest difficulty as a result of it undercuts the strengths of Derrickson’s path. Most of the movie’s finest parts are its visible decisions: the choice to shoot the astral aircraft sequences on 8mm, giving them a grainy, distorted look that provides exponentially to the movie’s ambiance, that includes snowy mountains and frozen lakes as main areas which might be lovely and ominous in equal measure, or the usage of dream logic in key scenes, resembling a cellphone sales space materializing on a lake with no quick justification. Nevertheless, the film frays on the seams when characters begin speaking about this stuff, usually coming throughout just like the filmmakers don’t belief their viewers.
The primary act is rife with tedious character selections, resembling Finney defaulting to an aimless pothead in his post-Grabber life, or wood dialogue, together with some severe “how do you do fellow youngsters” strains that make the actors seem to be aliens attempting to approximate teenage speech patterns. Issues enhance as soon as Finney and Gwen make their method to a Christian youth camp that their mom labored at a long time in the past, even when it additionally makes use of the contrivance of an all-too handy blizzard that simply so occurred to roll in that evening. This ensures solely the leads and a tiny cohort of camp staff are current and may’t depart because the plot ensues. Add thinly-sketched new faces and the characters treating the occasions of the primary movie as sacrosanct (what do you imply “after all everybody’s heard of The Grabber”? Is each serial killer robotically a family identify?), and it provides as much as a film that may usually really feel stifled when folks merely begin speaking.
The worst instance of that is the scene following up the reveal that The Grabber killed Finney and Gwen’s mother, as an alternative of the suicide that was prompt by the primary movie. The reveal itself is expertly performed, with The Grabber utilizing their psychic connection to let Gwen watch her mom’s demise and her father Terrence (Jeremy Davies) discovering the physique afterwards. However as an alternative of permitting the scene to face by itself as a strong second the viewers might be trusted to soak up, the film then has Gwen tearfully clarify what occurred to each her dad and Finney. It feels much less like a household reunion a lot as three actors standing round reciting the film’s Wikipedia synopsis to one another. The writing isn’t at all times so painfully literal, however the script doesn’t complement Derrickson’s poetic visuals. Sadly, it’s one thing we’ve seen earlier than in his earlier movies.
One Step Sideways
Scott Derrickson might not be in the identical class as filmmakers who’re generally thought-about “auteurs,” however he’s been an underrated style craftsman for a few years. As a director with an affinity for horror, he has pretty persistently turned in good-looking, commendable entries way back to 2005 with The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a film whose mix of courtroom drama and demonic possession has had much more endurance than its preliminary evaluations might recommend. He continued this streak with Sinister, The Black Cellphone, and now Black Cellphone 2, making stable three star horror films his consolation zone. Past his love for the style, Derrickson has an understated however recognizable authorial voice, with a powerful eye for constructing pressure, a repeated use of Christian themes and imagery, and a uncommon reward for drawing nice performances out of kid actors, which is a expertise he used to nice impact within the first Black Cellphone.
Regardless of all these respectable attributes, none of Derrickson’s films has turn into an iconic basic. He’s made a number of films that evoke The Exorcist, however he’s by no means made The Exorcist. All of it comes right down to the truth that his screenplays, usually written with collaborators like Cargill or Paul Harris Boardman, have by no means given him the inspiration he must let his visuals and thematic pursuits make his work emotionally resonate with an viewers long run. His films are well-made, fulfill their style expectations, and are clearly knowledgeable by his explicit narrative sensibilities, however they don’t linger within the thoughts months and even years later as the very best movies do. It’s laborious to say whether or not he hasn’t discovered the best premise or wants a brand new co-writer to assist his work reside as much as its potential, nevertheless it looks like Derrickson has a fantastic movie in him that he hasn’t made but.
This sample held true even when he directed a Marvel movie, the primary Physician Unusual. Generally thought-about a center of the pack MCU entry, it has extra going for it than it’s usually given credit score for. The film is well-cast, has nice and distinctive visuals, and though it by no means reaches the identical heights as the very best of the Infinity Saga in terms of being a full function like The Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it has particular scenes which might be among the many better of the Marvel Studios catalog. The Historical One sending Unusual’s astral kind on a mindbending journey by the multiverse, Unusual utilizing his mind and mastery of the magical ideas he’s discovered to defeat Dormammu by way of trickery as an alternative of brute pressure, and the attractive second the place Unusual and the Historical One converse on the hospital balcony as she’s pressured to lastly settle for her mortality are all incredible, however they’re shortchanged by the usual Marvel film script issues like underdeveloped supporting characters and ill-timed humor.
Almost a decade later, Derrickson continues to be going robust but in addition someway in the identical place, and Black Cellphone 2 speaks to that circumstance. It’s a fairly good film, nevertheless it’s held again by a script that doesn’t afford its characters sufficient depth and nuance to make it a fantastic film. Hopefully sometime Derrickson crosses that threshold, however for now, Black Cellphone 2 is yet one more entry that exemplifies why its director continues to be caught within the doorway.
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Impact essays. You may observe his fixations on Twitter.
