Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! Before we start today, I just want to do a little housekeeping. There will be a LOT, and I mean a LOT, of articles coming at you in these next few days. Some surprises, some planned, but ALL for Halloween. I hope you guys enjoy it! Today’s movie was one that I honestly expected to be trash (sometimes you can just tell), but I was blown away by it’s story and overall quality. It’s fresh, new, and amazing. It combines all of my favorite horror genres into one. Paranormal, slasher, psychological, it’s all there, and I’m excited to share it with you all. Don’t touch that dial, as we venture into the world… of The Black Phone. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…
The Black Phone
Our film starts in good old 1978, the same year the original Halloween took place! We are playing BASEBALLLLLLLL as we watch a hitter and a pitcher. We don’t know their names yet, but they are two of the best characters, one of them being our main man. The pitcher gets the hitter to two strikes, but he finally gets a home run on the last ball. The picture is disappointing, but the hitter doesn’t rub it in his face. He walks to the pitcher after the game, and gives him a high five. The picture says… “You almost had me. Your arm is mint!” These simple words will ring out through this entire film.
Our hitter bikes home, and we learn his name is Bruce Yamada. He is a genuinely good person, popular with the gals, and is loved by his community. He bikes home, after he sees the pitcher make a fantastic pitch. He smiles, and keeps biking, until a black van with black balloons stops in front of Bruce. We fade to black, as we get some of the craziest, most amazing opening titles I’ve ever seen. I’m telling you guys, watch these opening titles. We cut back to the land of the living, as we reunite with the pitcher, our main character. His name is Finney Blake. Finney lives at home with his younger sister Gwen (Gwenny), and his abusive father Terrance. His mother passed (this comes up later). In the small town of North Denver, Colorado, news spreads fast, and the entire town now knows about Bruce’s disappearance. Finney is BULLIED extremely ruthlessly at school, and he can’t stand up for himself. Gwen does it most of the time, actually. Finney is afraid. He has no confidence in himself. At school, Finney goes to the bathroom, and is confronted by two bullies. They’re about to beat him up, until his friend Robbie enters. Previously, Robbie beat up one of the bullies in front of the entire school, and the bullies are scared straight of him. They run, and Robbie has a seriously heartfelt conversation with Finney in the bathroom. The two are seriously friends.
Robbie says that, eventually, Finney will have to fight for himself. He has it inside himself, but he needs to channel his potential. Robbie believes in him, but Finney can’t believe in himself. Robbie says he’s seeing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre later that night, which makes Finney laugh. The two boys say their goodbyes, and Robbie leaves, the same black van pulling up right next to him as we fade to black. It’s that night, and Gwen and Finney are sitting together, still unaware that anything has happened. Gwen heads to bed, but not before praying to Jesus. She heads to bed, but it isn’t a restful night…
In a scene which I can only hope to describe, Gwen sees the story of Bruce. She sees him growing up, becoming a baseball player, and all is happy. Until the Grabber comes. He is the man with the balloons and the van, and Gwen sees this in her dreams, details of the case the police have never made public. She has visions. The next day, Gwen is in school with Finney when two policemen enter Gwen’s classroom. They ask to talk to her, and Gwen is forced to head down to the main office. The policemen ask if Gwen knows the Grabber, but she begins to give too much information due to her dream. The cops think she may be guilty or even lying, but she curses them out. She has a fiery temper!
That night, after Finney is beat up at school when Gwen tries to defend him, the two kids make it back home. Terrence RIPS into Gwen, slapping her and giving her a horrible beating due to the questioning, and the dream. Finney watches, but he’s unable to intervene. Terrence tells Gwen her dreams are not real. He never gives up, but Gwen cries and cries. Another day goes by, and Robbie’s disappearance begins to be noticed. Finney tries to talk to his crush in class, but is too nervous. He walks home, holding a rocket ship toy, until the Grabber appears. He lures Finney in, and after a fight where Finney injures his arm with his toy, he is taken into the van. Finney awakes in a basement, which is completely and utterly unescapable. There is a door, but it’s locked. The basement is soundproofed. There is a toilet,r but no room to escape in it. There’s a window, but it has a cage on it. Finney sits on a bed, which is chained to the floor.
Behind Finney, the namesake of this movie. The Black Phone. It’s a black rotary telephone, but its cord is disconnected. It should NOT work. The Grabber comes downstairs, and he is horrific. He wears a white devil mask, and he is terrifying. Finney is scared, but the Grabber acts unusually nice to him, heading back upstairs after promising to get Finney food. Finney tries to sleep, but is awoken… by the phone? That’s right. The phone starts to ring, and Finney picks it up, only hearing static. He goes back to bed, but it rings once more. He gets up, picks it up, and it’s Bruce. Finney is totally confused, and so is Bruce. He still remembers Finney’s name, but is shady on all the other details. Bruce tries to get a hold of himself, his niceness echoing still. He keeps repeating his same words. Finn’s arm is mint. Bruce is able to give Finney directions on how to escape the basement. Bruce’s plan is to dig next to the toilet and escape the basement by digging. Finney hangs up, thanking Bruce. Finney starts to dig for hours and hours, but the foundation is just too deep. After hours, Finney flushes the dirt down the toilet, and covers the hole with a yoga mat.
The Grabber returns with some food for Finney, and talks to him. It’s VERY creepy, but he leaves. However, Finney notices something. The door is unlocked. He of course goes to open it, but he is stopped. The phone rings once more. Finney picks it up, and in a moment that legitimately gave me a heart attack, a dead boy is behind Finney. He is cut up, ghostly, but Finney can’t see him, he can only hear his voice through the phone. The boy is named Billy, and he warns Finney. The Grabber is waiting at the top of the stars, and he says DO NOT go up. The camera pans up, and we see the Grabber, shirtless, just waiting with a belt. He wants Finney to come up. Billy says that the Grabber hasn’t killed Finney yet because he refused to play Naughty Boy. It’s a horrific game, and the second Finney plays, the Grabber will kill him. Instead of going upstairs, Billy gives Finney a suggestion. He found a massive cable when he was alive, and hid it under the wall. Using this, Finney tries to escape through the window. He’s able to pull the grate off the window, but he can’t get up. Another method, useless.
Back at Finney’s household, Gwen has a dream about him. She’s absolutely devastated about her brother’s disappearance, and tries to talk to Terrance about it. Terrance is a bit more calm, but he is still mad. It is revealed that Gwen and Finney’s mother committed suicide due to her dreams, the same as Gwens. They took her. Terrance begs Gwen to give up the dreams, as Wright and Miller, the policemen, go to an erratic man named Max’s house to investigate. Max is staying with his brother and is extremely obsessed with the Grabber’s crime, actively trying to find him. His house is right inside of the Grabber’s known locations, and the cops leave, not getting anything. Back with Finney, the Grabber comes downstairs, and it is revealed that Max is his brother. The Grabber is doing anything he can to make sure Max doesn’t find out about his evildoings.
Downstairs, Finney once again gets a call, this one from a boy named Griffin. Griffin gives him the combination to the door’s front lock, since the lock came from his bike when he was abducted. In an utterly intense, spine chilling scene, Finney goes upstairs past the sleeping Grabber and his dog Samson. Finney is able to escape, but the second he does, the Grabber knows. The two race down the street, but the Grabber gets him. Finney played Naughty Boy. Today is the day. The Grabber throws Finney into the basement, and it’s the Last Resort. Finney gets a call from Vance, the fourth victim. We see a flashback to when he was alive, and he is the most late 70s kid you’ve ever seen. He plays arcade games, gets arrested all the time, and beats up whoever he wants. Even though he isn’t nice to Finney, he does give him another method. Break the wall using the top of the toilet, get through the freezer, and run. Finney tries, but can’t get through the locked freezer. He sits on his bed, and cries. Is it over?
The Black Phone rings. Finney picks it up, and a familiar voice greets him. It’s Robin. Finney is overjoyed, and the two boys talk. Robin completely remembers his name and Finney’s as well. He tells him that it’s time. He has to stand up for himself. In a seriously badass moment, Finney breaks the phone off the wall, following Robin’s instructions. We watch Robin, in the back as a ghost, train Finney with the phone to act as a weapon. The pair step back and forth in sync, Finney finally coming into his own. Robin says to take dirt, pack the receiver tight, and use it. Finney thanks Robin, as he says a final goodbye. He’s the last call…
After Gwen has her most important dream yet, she sees the house number of the Grabber. She runs to Wright and Miller, and gives them the address. The police speed off, and begin swarming the house. At the same time, Max looks at his map of the Grabber’s attacks, and is shocked. It’s his house. He walks down into the basement, and finds Finney. He rushes to free him, but the Grabber returns, slicing his brother in the head with an axe, killing him. The Grabber stares at Finney, and Finney stares back. It’s time. The Police raid the Grabber’s house at the same time, but come to the horrible discovery. The Grabber has two houses. He’s keeping Finney in Max’s, and the police are in his. In the Grabber’s basement rests the bodies of all the kids…
In the basement, the grabber rushes with an axe. Finney bolts out of the way, and runs. He uses the wire from his past escape to trip the Grabber, falling into the hole, with the grate on the window inside. The Grabber breaks his foot on the break, and Finney attacks, hitting him over and over with the black phone. Finally, Finney takes the cord, and wraps it around his neck. The black phone rings. It’s all the past victims. They taunt the Grabber, and finally, Bruce ends it all, with the words, “Finn’s arm is mint!”. The Grabber’s neck snaps. Finney walks out of the house, unlocking the door with ease. He hugs Gwenny, and the police storm the house. It’s over. Terrence hugs his children, apologizing over and over again.
It’s the next day, and Finney walks in as the big man on campus, laughing off the bullies. He’s learned from all those who’ve helped him. He confidently sits next to his crush in class, and ends the movie, asking her to call him Finn…
AND THERE WE HAVE IT! Thank you all so much for reading. I adored the Black Phone, and you guys NEED to watch it. It is so, so good. Get prepared for lots of articles coming soon! And, always remember, trust your dreams…
