Pop Culture
TV & MoviesCelebrityBest of the InternetAnimalsMusicRewindBooksLGBTQQuizzes
LatestTrendingFoodLoveTriviaQuiz PartyShopping
LatestHomeFashionTechBeauty & Personal CareKidsPetsSex ToysSports & FitnessStoresSubscriptionsBuzzFeed MerchVideo
LatestCocoa ButterNEW!Mom In ProgressWorth ItUnsolved True CrimeUnsolved SupernaturalMultiplayerPero LikeCocoa ButterLifestyle
As/Is: StyleBringMe: TravelGoodful: WellnessNifty: DIYParentsFoodWeddingsSex And LoveNEW!Community
What is Community?Join Community!Featured PostsLeaderboardFrom Our Partners
Pride TimeYour Summer ObsessionsLove, PrideLaughing Out LoudCelebrate Black MusicHydrow The CurrentSan Diego, Happiness is CallingScience Will WinHoliday Cookie ShowdownIt's Your JourneyLive The LegendAbout
About UsAdvertiseInvestor RelationsJobsNewslettersEditionUSUKAustraliaBrasilCanadaDeutschlandIndiaJapanLatamCalifornia residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.Do Not Sell My Personal Information © 2022 BuzzFeed, Inc PressRSSPrivacyConsent PreferencesUser TermsAccessibility StatementAd ChoicesHelpContactSitemapBuzzFeed NewsReporting on what you care about. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing.BuzzFeed TastySearch, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place!BuzzFeed GoodfulSelf care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life.BuzzFeed Bring MeObsessed with travel? Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me!BuzzFeed As IsSomething for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity.TV and Movies·Posted 27 minutes ago"The Black Phone" Is A New Horror Film Starring Ethan Hawke As A Serial Child Killer
Don't talk to strangers.
by Crystal RoBuzzFeed Staff
FacebookPinterestTwitterMailLink
The Black Phone is the latest addition to the popular trend of throwback horror — i.e. Stranger Things and the It films — that have been having a major moment as of late.
Universal Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection
Based on a short story by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King), The Black Phone tells the horrifying tale of a local serial child killer called "The Grabber."
Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Hawke, who teams up again with Sinister filmmakers Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, plays The Grabber. If you've seen the promotional artwork, then you'll already be familiar with the very creepy, Lon Chaney–esque (London After Midnight) mask that's sure to be the most memorable aspect of the movie.
MGM / couresty of Everett Collection, Universal / Getty Images
Note: There are some mild spoilers ahead and also mentions of child abuse.
So, the film opens with a montage that feels like something out of a high-brow HBO series. Through a series of creepy images — presented in era-specific low-fi footage — the tone is clearly set. And, if I'm being honest, the opening montage is one of the better parts of the movie.
Universal Pictures
Set in 1978 north Denver, we meet a 13-year-old boy named Finney (Mason Thames), who's bullied at school and tormented at home by an alcoholic father (Jeremy Davies).
Universal Pictures
Finney is close with his younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who is sassy, super tough, and has a strange gift...
Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
...you see, Gwen can ~see things~ in her dreams (more on that in a second). And yes, this concept feels like something straight out of a Stephen King novel — because like father, like son!
Universal Pictures
Now, over the course of a few weeks, some of the kids Finney knows from school go missing — Bruce, the local baseball superstar, and Robin, Finney's friend/defender from the bullies. The cops are on the case to solve these kidnappings, but their only clues are some black balloons that have been left behind where the boys were taken.
Universal Pictures
One day, Finney is out walking by himself (why are kids walking home alone when there's a known kidnapper about?!) and he comes across a strange man with a creepy van.
Universal Pictures
