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Total Film
Total Film
Entertainment
Megan Garside

New horror sequel The Black Phone 2 called "tremendous", "nightmarish", and "better" than the original in first reviews – and even Stephen King is a massive fan

Stephen King Mason Thames Ethan Hawke Finn Gwen Scott Derrickson The Grabber
Mason Thames as Finn and Ethan Hawke as The Grabber in The Black Phone 2 trailer.

Despite many of this year's best horror movies releasing earlier in the calendar, it looks like spooky season 2025 is saved as upcoming horror sequel The Black Phone 2 has debuted to stellar first reviews, and even Stephen King is a fan.

Following Scott Derrickson's anticipated follow-up premiering at Fantastic Fest 2025, horror legend King took to Twitter to praise the sequel, writing, "It’s not as good as the first one. IT’S BETTER."

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