Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill reunited to bring us back into the nightmare, and honestly, they knocked it out of the park. The Black Phone 2 is that rare sequel that not only lives up to the original but expands on everything that made it terrifying.
From the opening scene, I was hooked. They didn’t waste time getting into the story, and every twist kept me second-guessing what would happen next. Without spoiling anything, the way they expanded the mythology felt organic and terrifying. The supernatural phone calls remain the movie’s beating heart, and somehow they made them even more chilling this time around.
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The setting deserves its own paragraph. Cold, bleak, and suffocating – the cinematography captures a world where hope feels like a distant memory. Every frame drips with dread. I could practically feel the temperature drop in my theater. The aesthetic creates an isolated, helpless atmosphere that pulls you deeper into the nightmare.
What impressed me most was how seamlessly they tied everything together. Questions from the first film get answered while new mysteries emerge. There’s a perfect balance between honoring what came before and blazing its own path forward.
Horror sequels often feel like cash grabs, but this is the real deal. Derrickson and Cargill prove they understand what made the first film work and had the courage to build on it rather than simply repeat the formula.
If you loved the first one, don’t miss this.
Grade: A-
About The Peetimes: There are 2 great Peetimes for you to pick from.
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Black Phone 2.
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| Rated: | (R) Strong Violent Content | Language | Gore | Teen Drug Use |
| Genres: | Horror |
| USA release date: | 2025-10-17 |
| Movie length: | |
| Starring: | Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Arianna Rivas |
| Director: | Scott Derrickson |
| Writer(s): | C. Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson, Joe Hill |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | United States |
Plot
As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, his sister begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.
RunPee.com owes RunPee Sis a huge debt of gratitude. She sees any movie needed with no complaints and has done so for ten years (even basing Thanksgiving and Christmas family festivities around the seeing films). In 2015 Sis ran the entire RunPee enterprise herself, while RunPee Dan, Jilly and Mom went traipsing off to Europe. Sis is the spider in the web holding the RunPee family together — besides being a funny, well rounded person, and a joyous pleasure to be around. Her favorite films start and end with horror (which thank goodness she’s happy to see, since most of us don’t have the stomach for it) — but also likes silly comedies, sad dramas, and musicals of all types. If you’ve used a Peetime for a scary film, you probably have RunPee Sis to thank for it.
Favorite movie genre: Horror, horror, and more horror. The more disturbing, the better. Period.