There’s a push and pull in Scott Derrickson’s follow-up film Black Phone 2 that bothers me. There’s a compelling continuation at the core of this second C. Robert Cargill-penned installment, one that gives us as much dreadful psychological tension as it does exciting adrenaline-pumping horror. But the strengths of the film are marred and overshadowed by a consistent push to make Christianity look cool and edgy, which leaves parts of the film feeling disjointed and, frankly, unrealistic.
The film picks up several years after the events of The Black Phone, in which central protagonist Finney (Mason Thames) slayed his captor, The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). The mysterious man with a sinister smiling mask is a serial murderer who was discovered by Finney’s sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), through psychic dream visions that led her to his basement lair. Four years after Finney’s return, his sister starts having new visions that lead the pair to a Christian youth camp full of secrets from both The Grabber’s past and their own.
