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wahbegan · 2 years

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The Black Phone Review

So, since there isn’t much in the way of an actual review of the movie in The Black Phone tag, primarily because it’s full of....ahem....other things, I thought I’d give writing one a spin, since I do that sometimes.

So far, i honestly have no idea if the Stephen King curse of having 95% of all adaptations of his work suck shit is hereditary or not. Joseph Hillstrom King, better known as Joe Hill (whose pen name is apparently because he doesn’t want to live in his father’s shadow, but honestly i think it’s because he doesn’t want to go by Joe King because it sounds like a fake name the fucking Joker would make up), only has four adaptations to his name, present company excluded. So far. The Locke and Key Netflix series, the NOS4A2 AMC series, and the films In the Tall Grass and Horns. And In the Tall Grass was co-written with Stephen King, so it’s more like three and a half.

Now I’ve never seen the tv shows because i haven’t read Locke and Key and because NOS4A2 is by far and away my favorite of Joe Hill’s novels, and i almost know for a fact that it would disappoint me because of the love i have for that book and the image of it built in my head. But they both got good reviews. Not STELLAR, but good.

In the Tall Grass was received about as well as any other adaptation Stephen King gets his filthy mitts on, and Horns was pretty much considered mediocre. Just...fine, i guess.

So we’re in this limbo here with Joe Hill adaptations, which is a shame, because by and large, i actually (HERESY ALERT) tend to like his work better than his father’s. None of his movie adaptations have been just hilariously fucking awful like a lot of Stephen’s, but none of them have really been fucking solid gold diamond-studded hallmarks of cinema like the select few of Stephen’s, either.

So it’s a bit odd to me that Scott Derickson picked The Black Phone to adapt. I mean Hill only has four novels to his name, the rest being comics and short stories, and someone already has the rights to The Fireman, while Heart-Shaped Box languishes in development Hell for idk 15 years, so it’s understandable he’d go for a short story.

But still, The Black Phone is a very simple story, about ten pages long, with all of the action confined to a brief kidnapping scene and one room. Certainly an ambitious thing to try to tackle, but i was worried about how much expanding on the story the movie was going to have to do.

I was then further worried by the trailers, because whoever edited them honestly needs to be taken out back and shot. Those despicable fucking trailers that just take you beat-by-beat through the movie, first of all, and also edited lines of dialogue to, inexplicably, make them sound much less natural and much more expository and heavy-handed than they actually were.

Also, you may remember Scott Derickson as the lad who did Sinister. Ohh, now it makes sense why he’d pick this movie, he fucking loves mixing true crime with dead kids jump scaring his audience. And I was worried it would be too much like Sinister, where the truly fucking harrowing part of that movie (the snuff films) ended up taking a backseat to his love of dead kids running about and over-the-top goofy looking villains.

Again, this wasn’t helped by the trailers, which put the dead kids and the killer’s mask (not present in the original story, in which he was just some fat, gross-looking guy) front and center, including a group shot of all the dead kids blocking the road that Derickson pretty much copy/pasted from Sinister.

But this is Joe Hill, i thought, and i actually have a girl to take to see it, and it’s getting good reviews, so what the hell.

So does it do it? Does The Black Phone finally make a Joe Hill adaptation that is as extremely good or extremely bad as one of his dad’s?

Well.....no. Not...really. Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of movie that is so good it’s going to be culturally revered or anything.

This is all just my expectations, though. Which muddied things a lot. My advice? Just don’t watch the trailers at all, and don’t think of Sinister or the legacy of Stephen King when you watch it. And for the sweet love of merciful Christ, don’t think of what lurks in The Black Phone tag on tumblr. Take it as its own thing.

Because as its own thing, it’s a very fucking good movie.

Everything Sinister did wrong, The Black Phone does right. The supernatural elements are actually used fairly lightly, and almost all the horror in the movie comes from how fucked up the all-too-familiar true crime situation is. A boy stops to help a seemingly clumsy, friendly doofus who took a pratfall and spilled his magician’s act all over the pavement. The next thing he knows, he’s got wasp spray in his eyes and is being bundled into a van. And this isn’t the first time.

Those kidnappings serve the same purpose the snuff films in Sinister did, but are a lot less in-your-face and just let you simmer in the implications.

Even Ethan Hawke’s masked child-killer, The Grabber, doesn’t appear very often. It’s the tension. The mystery of what, exactly, he does to kids between kidnapping and murdering them. The horrible but very nicely restrained descriptions of some, but not all, of the atrocities committed on his victims. The heavy implication, but refusal to outright confirm that he’s a pedophile. The agonizingly long shots of his victim trying to escape his basement dungeon, knowing that he could appear at any moment.

This wouldn’t work as well if The Grabber wasn’t acted superbly, but he really is. Ethan Hawke is fucking terrifying, which is not an adjective I would have ever used for him before, but he really is. He plays The Grabber with this....softness is the wrong word, but at least a front of it. A disquieting and jarring childishness in some scenes, a clear immaturity. Whether he’s just stunted emotionally or putting on a front for his victim’s sake isn’t clear, but either way it gets under your skin.

Especially because they never tell you anything about this guy. Not even his name. There’s no backstory of abuse, no rounds with his therapist, no diary, nothing. All we have to go on is Ethan Hawke’s excellent performance and tiny scraps of implication. It makes his behavior and mood swings harder to predict in a very refreshing way.

Like most abusers, he wasn’t angry the majority of the time. Wasn’t outwardly threatening. Even his weird Devil mask, while ostentatious, seems to be less of a fright mask and more of his own bizarre, childish way of expressing his mood and persona at the time. He swaps it out between a completely mouthless version when speaking to the protagonist just after the kidnapping, a sickening grin when he dotes on his victim and brings him food, and an exaggerated, pouty frown when he waits at the top of the stairs, shirtless, holding a belt, just waiting for him to try to escape.

I know a lot of people think that image is hot. Let me be clear, it is probably the single scariest fucking shot of the movie. I just couldn’t stop thinking of some incredibly damaged, sick motherfucker imitating what he saw as a kid. Making a vaudeville horror show out of child abuse.

Yes, this is one of the most effective horror movie killers in recent history.

But there’s so much more to the movie than that! The protagonist and his sister are also both played fucking stunningly, both being given a LOT of VERY heavy material to work with. Abuse, bullying, the kidnapping that forms the crux of the movie, and they nail it. The sister’s hysterical screams and sobs as their father beats her while the brother watches, angry out of his mind but paralyzed with fear is....

Jesus.

This movie is very gritty, by the way. Not in an over-the-top, in-your-face way, just a...an air of detached realism. It’s set in the late ‘70s, but instead of the nostalgic sheen recent media puts over everything from that fucking era, it’s portrayed in a very naturalistic way. There’s some lovely use of 8mm film, the lighting and costuming department did a very good job capturing the look of the era, and most importantly, childhood in the ‘70s, when beating your kids was still pretty normalized, missing faces got printed on milk cartons, and stranger danger was at its peak.

It’s not glamorized at all, is me point.

BUT it’s also not all doom and gloom. The kids are the main stars of this movie, and they do an amazing job at not just being victim, but being survivors and rising above the bullshit they go through. The protagonist’s little sister in particular is an incredible character, given some of the best lines in the movie.

And over the titular Black Phone...the dead children are played as scary a bit. Thrice, in fact. There are three jump scares, one of which made a woman in my theater scream. But for the most part, they’re not played for horror. They’re played for a surprisingly meditative melancholy. They’re played for just fucking sadness at the young lives cut brutally short, whatever innocence they had lost.

And by the end, they’re played for a sense of camaraderie in darkness that really fucking tugs at your heartstrings. I was not expecting this movie to be as emotional as it was.

So in the end, The Black Phone is gripping, tense as fuck, psychological, pretty fucking harrowing, depressing and cathartic all at the same time. The direction and art are quite nice, and i don’t have many problems with it.

James Ransome’s character is a little weird, sticks out just a mite, buuuutt that can be forgiven. It is also very Stephen King-y, with absolutely psychotic bullies and an abusive alcoholic father, although his abuse and alcoholism are both contextualized in a bizarrely grounded way.

Finally, yeah, just a content warning, in case you haven’t already picked it up. As I said, there are no explicit mentions of or depictions of pedophilia but it is heavily implied. No kids are shown being murdered, but they do talk about it, and they do get the shit kicked out of them both by other kids and by their parents. I mean violence against children is the principal theme of this movie so, while it ultimately ends on a pretty uplifting note, i’d still avoid it if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing.

But will it be remembered alongside The Shining or The Shawshank Redemption? Or even the recent IT movies? Fuck no, but i would venture a guess and say it’s definitely the best Joe Hill adaptation to date

#The Black Phone #Joe Hill #Scott Derickson #i should make a tag for my reviews you know what i will #reviews

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tksales · 2 years

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FILME: O TELEFONE PRETO

Scott Derickson é um nome muito influente quando se tratam de filmes de Terror. Suas obras possuem temas variados, mas sempre tem um pé no sobrenatural, e não é diferente em O Telefone Preto. Nele O Sequestrador, interpretado por Ethan Hawke, procura crianças em lugares isolados para raptá-las com uma van preta e balões. O filme tem um excelente elenco mirim e diverte por não ter pretensões, e ser um filme leve, mesmo com a temática pesada. Algumas cenas são verdadeiramente assustadoras, mas esse não é o foco do longa e ele abrange diversos subgêneros do Suspense e Horror com um estilo único. Eu espero que o filme não passe despercebido e as pessoas possam o aproveitar em sua plenitude, afinal, é um dos melhores filmes dentro do gênero nos últimos 10 anos.

Nota: 8/10

#telefone preto #ethan hawke #scott derickson

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rickyvalero · 2 years

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Ethan Hawke Terrorizes 1970s Neighborhood Children in The Black Phone, A Simultaneously Effective and Perplexing Thriller

By Scott Cole THE BLACK PHONE – * * 1/2 (2 1/2 stars out of 5) Director: Scott Derrickson Starring: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransome A big pet peeve of mine in movies is the character of the small child who talks and acts just like the adults who have written them. I do not mean child characters who are geniuses or savants. I am referring to a…

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#Black Phone #black phone movie review #Ethan Hawke #film review #Films #James Ransome #Jeremy Davies #Madeleine McGraw #Mason Thames #Movie #Movie review #Movies #Music City drive in #Music City Film Critic #Scott Derickson

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junkfoodcinemas · 2 years

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The Black Phone (2022) dir. Scott Derickson

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talesfromthecrypts · 2 years

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Nighty-Night naughty boy.

The Black Phone (2022) dir. Scott Derickson

#the black phone #filmedit #horroredit #usercy #tuserleo #usergiles #mygifs #more super 8 footage scott! MORE

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ironstrange1991 · 4 months

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Two or three fanfic writers, Scott Derickson and Benedict Cumberbatch against the world and Stephen would finally have the plot he deserves.

#doctor strange

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luvsvpreme · 2 years

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Scrapped concept arts of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness under the direction of Scott Derickson which features Nightmare as the villain!

Wendigo Forest

below is a concept art of a scene where Dr. Strange is at Wendigo Forest, where his sister, Donna, died when they were kids. we could also see Dr. Strange facing Nightmare at the same time.

A piece from the Book of Vishanti

(photo won't upload for some reason) there was a piece from the BoV where it would've attached to the Eye of Agamotto which was originally going to be used by Doctor Strange. but sadly, in the film we got, they set up the importance of the BoV in the beginning of the movie, only for them to do absolutely nothing to it later on the film.

my thoughts:

this movie would've been super great because looking at all the scrapped ideas, the main focus was on Dr. Strange. it was a Doctor Strange movie after all. it just saddens me that we could've had it all! a Doctor Strange movie where it focuses only on Doctor Strange. Nightmare as the villain would be fire. and that this movie would have been a great Doctor Strange sequel overall under Derickson's visions for this film where they address his traumas, more about his past, Nightmare fucking with him, but instead, Waldron scrapped all the good ideas and proceeds to butcher all of the characters in the movie. including him nerfing the shit out of Dr. Strange, making Strange completely all about Christine, Wanda's ridiculous excuse as to why she's going on a killing spree, don't even get me started with the, "what if they get sick??" Wong, the fucking Sorcerer Supreme, being useless and lowkey dumb, the Illuminati dying in impossible and ridiculous ways, i could go on.

Scott Derickson needs to come back for the next Doctor Strange movie because he's the only one who knows and understands Doctor Strange's character properly.

#doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #multiverse of madness #doctor strange #stephen strange #dr strange #sorcerer supreme #benedict cumberbatch #strange supreme #supreme strange #defender strange #sinister strange #mcu phase 4

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somuchyoudontknow · 9 months

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Bermuda??? 😂

Okay, people we have an article that talks about Chris' upcoming projects in 2023 but they also mention Bermuda out of nowhere.

4.) Bermuda

As reported by Variety in 2020, Bermuda is a Bermuda Triangle action-adventure directed by Doctor Strange's Scott Derickson and stars Evans in the leading role.

This is a long-in-development project by Skydance, but the trail has gone cold since this initial report. Derickson may still be working on rewriting the script as the plot details are under wraps.

#chris evans #chris evans pr #Bermuda #Pain hustlers #Red one #Scott pilgrim anime

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doormouseetcappendix · 4 months

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Best Films Of 2023 41-50

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem directed by Jeff Rowe

Scott Pilgirm Takes Off directed by Tomohisa Shimoyama, Moko-chan, Akitoshi Yokoyama, Rushio Moriyama, Takakazu Nagatomo, Kenji Maeba, Takuya Fujikura, & Takakazu Nagatomo

Kazizi Moto: Generation Fire Raymond Malinga, Simangaliso ‘Panda’ Sibaya & Malcom Wope, Shofela Coker, Nthato Mokgata & Catherine Green, Tshepo Moche, Pious Nyenyewa & Tafadzwa Hove, Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane, Ahmed Teilab, Lesego Vorster, Ng'endo Mukii

Thanksgiving directed by Eli Roth

V/H/S/85 directed by David Bruckner, Scott Derickson, Gigi Saul Guerraro, Nathasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson

Luther: Fallen Son directed by Jamie Payne

The Creator directed by Gareth Edwards

Make My Day directed by Takahiro Tanaka, Kentarō Fujita, Tatsuji Yamazaki, Kohei Sugatani, Grace Chen, Mntn Chang, Yuichi Abe

Landscape With Invisible Hand directed by Cory Finley

No One Will Save You directed by Brian Duffield

#film #movies #lists #best of lists #best of 2023 #teenage mutant ninja turtles mutant mayhem #scott pilgirm takes off #kaziz moto generation fire #thanksgiving #vhs #vhs 85 #luther fallen son #the creator #make my day #landscape with invisible hand #no one will save you

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myhahnestopinion · 1 year

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THE 2022 AARONS - Best Film

75 films released in 2022 are eligible for this year’s ceremony. That ties a low with the pandemic year of 2020, but my goal was to focus on quality over quantity. Well, at least that’s what I told myself until I opted to watch Disenchanted over Decision to Leave. I did watch a lot of good films last year though. Here are the Aarons for Best Film:

#10. Scream

Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett were the first people brave enough to take a stab at Scream since the passing of director Wes Craven. They slayed at becoming its stewards. The fifth film’s satire has bigger prey in mind than just the slasher subgenre, cutting through a whole culture obsessed with reliving an idealized past. It’s a scary, and pertinent, reminder of how easily infantilized fan-bases can be weaponized against human beings, told with a sly style that would have made Craven proud. While the film features plenty of familiar faces and Ghostfaces, it’s the new blood of current and soon-to-be horror icons like Dylan Minnette and Jenny Ortega that really made the horror-comedy a scream.

#9. The Black Phone

Based on the short story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone recalls the best works of his father Stephen King. The 70s-set serial killer thriller grabs ahold of viewers with its supernatural hook - a phone that converses with the dead - but it’s the clever characters that will keep them captivated. Sinister director Scott Derickson slowly dials up the dread as young Finny Blake tries to escape the clutches of his kidnapper, with the looming specter of past victims making the cost of failure clear. The frightening film’s secret weapon is its resourcefulness, deftly deploying Ethan Hawke’s maniacal villain and eerie 8mm imagery as it lays the groundwork for an off-the-hook finale.

#8. The Batman

Since its debut, every comic book filmmaker has been riddled by the same dilemma: how to eclipse The Dark Knight. If director Matt Reeves, who sharpened his skill for thoughtful blockbusters on Planet of the Apes, didn’t solve the question, he at least gave a very good guess. Reeve’s reinvention pushed the envelope of superhero cinema by drawing inspiration from David Fincher, distinguishing itself in the competitive genre through grounded stakes and great spectacle. Abetted by Paul Dano’s riveting Riddler and Robert Pattison’s arresting, arrestedly-developed version of the vigilante, the twists and turns of the mystery noir keep viewers tightly-wound even after its dam breaks open.

#7. TÁR

TÁR’s composition is unusual: it begins with a full set of production credits, shown in reverse of traditional order. The switch-up is the opening salvo of a film fully intent on upsetting power dynamics. The three-hour character piece plays with audiences’ sympathies as it chronicles the collapse of famous (fictional) symphony composer Lydia Tár. The nuanced tale of narcissism takes some cues from modern day ‘cancel culture,” but the tenor is a tragedy as classical as they come. To alleviate trepidation, it’s important to note that TÁR isn’t as stuffy as it may sound: the coda of this unusual composition is a rollicking punchline as appropriate as it is unpredictable.

#6. Pearl

Pearl is a gem. Filmed in secret alongside its predecessor (more on that shortly) and released a few months later, the prequel extrapolates X into a compelling study of its eponymous character. The wickedness of the Oz-inspired technicolor terror contrasts itself through its singular focus. Tracing the lead-up to Pearl’s first string of murders in 1918 as her fairy tale dreams turn into a deranged fervor, the film keeps the body count going but the spotlight fixed on the incontestable star power of Mia Goth. Goth’s devotion to the demented ending guarantees that, while X is extricating, Pearl will always linger in the back of one’s mind.

#5. X

‘Elevated horror,’ the designation given to the recent trend of arthouse films, has routinely struggled to find the right balance between lofty thematic ambitions and expected genre titillation. X marks the spot. The trick was in fixating both on being unabashed about one’s nature. The thrust of Ti West’s throwback grindhouse flick, which documents a group of sexually-liberated filmmakers’ fateful encounter with an envious elderly couple, is a morality play about accepting mortality. The sexed-up slasher doesn’t skimp on penetrating flesh though, with gnarly gore effects designed by Wētā Workshop. It could have been objectifying and objectionable material, but West directs it all with a curious compassion; as a result, X multiplied wins for his films this year.

#4. The Banshees of Inisherin

Banshees is a lament of ghosting gone wrong. Martin McDonagh’s drama escalates an unconscientious uncoupling - truthful but tactless - between two life-long best friends to its most absurd and absurdly funny degree. Backdropped by the Irish Civil War, the boiling tension between the curiously incongruous but synchronously stubborn pairing of Brendan Gleeson’s ambitious Colm and Colin Farrell’s simplistic Pádraic highlights how quickly spite can erode one’s better angels. It’s a downbeat design yet Inisherin’s spirit lies in its impeccably witty dialogue. They may not be able to put their finger on whether it’s gaiety or grief, but audiences will be howling in response to Banshees for one reason or the other.

#3. Speak No Evil

Much has been said recently about horror’s use as a vehicle to process past trauma; Speak No Evil returns the conversation to the genre’s custom of cautionary tales. Danger lies ahead, not behind, of the film’s family when they accept an invitation to an idyllic weekend stay with a foreign couple. Evil preys on the unprepared; the insidious nature of its terror isn’t clear until its trap is already sprung. For the unassertive, the Danish film is uniquely devastating. The less said to prospective viewers, the better, though rest assured that Speak No Evil deserves every good word.

#2. The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg has spent a lifetime doing his dream work and capturing his audiences’ imagination along the way. Loosely based on his own childhood, The Fablemans brings that wide-ranging filmography into focus. The assortment of anecdotes is one of the director’s funniest films and undoubtedly his most vulnerable. While this semi-autobiographical story could have been a simple victory lap for the septuagenarian, Spielberg’s sentimentality has always been far wiser than critics claim. The sure to be sacred text to future generations of filmmakers is certainly a testament to the magic of movies. Yet, even as Spielberg reframes his past, the learned moral imparted by The Fabelmans is really about what cinema is unable to control.

AND THE BEST FILM OF 2022 IS...

#1. Everything Everywhere All At Once

Movie multiverses may be inescapable at the moment, but no project encapsulates the concept’s infinite possibilities more than Everything Everywhere All at Once. The revolutionary martial-arts flick runs like The Matrix trading its estrogen for ecstasy as it awakens an under-audit laundromat owner to the larger worlds around her. The film’s directors, collectively credited as Daniels, learned the tools of the trade on the offbeat Swiss Army Man and apply that same sense of humor here: one that’s lewd, ludicrous, and incredibly life affirming. Able to transform a universe of humans with hot dogs for fingers from joke to tearjerker and back again, the film is continually unexpected but everything one’s ever wanted all at once.

NEXT UP: THE 2022 AARONS FOR WORST FILM!

#film #TheAarons #TheAaronsFilm #TheAarons2022 #best film #best picture #best of 2022 #top 10 #everything everywhere all at once #the fabelmans #speak no evil #the banshees of inisherin #x #pearl #tar #the batman #the black phone #scream

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dancingisdangerouss · 1 year

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so like… didn’t you technically plagiarize the grabber from joe hill and scott derickson and ethan hawke… I’m confused about this logic can u please explain lmao. literally what is the difference?

Girl if you’re that dumb, I’m not going to spoon-feed it to you, ask your parents.

#also you sound like a minor #so you should not be on my blog in the first place thank you bye #penny for your thots #asks #anon

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mianmimi · 1 year

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Other than Wong and a big maybe on Clea, Marvel Studios hates Stephen's supporting cast and Stephen himself when they can't use him as a plot device. I'm over the MCU at this point, tbh, so I wouldn't mind if they don't use Mordo again. I only wish they had given him an open end. For example, if in DS1 he'd gone back to Bavaria or Transylvania to take care of family business, I could pretend he became an independent sorcerer without ties to Kamar-Taj. I just want some closure for his character.

I would love to see Mordo back again, but in a way that truly gives justice to his character. If they’re just gonna trash him then I’d rather he stay outta the picture and away from harm 😭 Honestly with how terrible MoM was I’m glad we were spared whatever plans they had for him under Waldron’s pen. The only one I really trust with him right now is Scott Derickson himself, if anything because I know he respects the character so much.

I do enjoy the idea of Mordo starting his own order of sorcerers. Either that or he’s partying it up and having all the fun and men he could ever want 🤣 Whichever fate gives him the most peace and happiness, that’s where I’ll be.

#doctor strange #stephen strange #karl mordo #strordo #ask and answer #thank you nonny #stephen strange/karl mordo #otp feels

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adamwatchesmovies · 2 years

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The Black Phone (2022)

If you love horror movies, you’re always looking for a way to get others to join. The problem is you don’t want to scare them off by exposing them to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Hereditary or The Exorcist right away. Better to ease them into the genre with something like The Black Phone. The film is both fun in the same way an “escape” movie is fun and frightening, with the sort of subtle touches I wish we saw more often.

In 1978, the child abductor nicknamed “The Grabber” has already claimed five victims. Finney (Mason Thames) is his sixth. Inside the soundproof basement in which he is imprisoned hangs a black phone. On the other end are the voices of the serial murderer’s past victims. Meanwhile, Finney’s younger sister, Gwen (Mason Thames), uses her psychic dreams to search for her brother.

One of the film’s strongest points is the uncertainty of that phone. Whatever The Grabber has in mind for Finney will cost him his life. The mask he always wears is in two parts. The top stays the same but the bottom - the part with the mouth - gets swapped out to reflect his demented mood. There’s some sort of logic to the order of his moods. You might figure it out if you had the time… but there is no time. Finney needs to get out as soon as possible. Trouble is, you’re unsure whom he should fear more: The Grabber, or that black phone. I know what you’re thinking. “Aren’t the ghosts on the other end friendly?” Yes… but they’re so creepy. Whenever you hear that ringing, you're filled with dread. Every time he picks up the receiver, he learns more about what happened to the others. The problem is, none of them escaped. There’s only so much the dead can help with.

Though The Black Phone will make you scream more than once, it’s also entertaining. Seeing Finney’s plan of escape come together allows you to put yourself in his shoes. You look at what Finney has available and your mind races. Of course, that danger is always looming overhead. The more Finney listens to the spirits, the more uneasy you feel. Yes, it’s only a matter of time before The Grabber gets tired of him. In the meantime, he’s “doing ok” just sitting back and being quiet. He knows his sister was having dreams about the missing children before he was taken. If he can just hold on for long enough, if he doesn't try - and fail - to escape like the other boys, there's a chance she’ll come through and save him.

The Black Phone does not feature teens and children for mere shock value. It's a cautionary tale about speaking to strangers and a story about facing your fears. We don't learn much about The Grabber. That ambiguity allows him to become an exaggerated version of the many bullies Finney ran away from in school; the ones who wanted to force him into a bathroom and keep him there until he got the punishment they feel he deserved. To escape from this "bathroom" and this "bully", he’ll need to do a lot of growing up.

The Black Phone could’ve been scary as Scott Derickson and C. Robert Cargill’s Sinister - that one still gives me chills. Otherwise, this is a solid picture. It evokes what we felt during 2017's It. The scares are joined by substance. The child performances are excellent. There’s a scene where Mason Thames - his latest attempt at escape having failed - breaks down and it cuts deep. The adults are just as good too. Ethan Hawke as The Grabber, in particular.

The Black Phone is scary but not so overwhelming that you would never think of showing this film to other people, maybe even braver teens. It's also thrilling and well-acted, with a confident script and solid direction. (Theatrical version on the big screen, July 3, 2022)

#The Black Phone #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Scott Derrickson #C. Robert Cargill #Joe Hill #Mason Thames #Madeleine McGraw #Jeremy Davies #James Ransone #Ethan hawke #2022 movies #2022 films #horror movies #horror films

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themattress · 2 years

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Has Kevin Feige lost the plot on the MCU?

OK, I’m not trying to cast judgement either way on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but hearing the critical reception to it has made me realize something pretty bad about the current state of the MCU aka Phase 4. Simply put, what once was one of the MCU’s biggest draws - that all the films are connected - has now ironically become one of its biggest liabilities due to how Kevin Feige has decided to keep “upping the ante” with it.

What made the interconnectivity of the MCU fun was that vastly different stories with vastly different tones and vastly different elements all occurred within the same universe and this made the occasional crossovers that much more enjoyable to see. But that’s just it - the crossovers were occasional, and the direct links between one movie and another were kept at a reasonable minimum. Otherwise, Iron Man had his own corner of the universe, Captain America had his own corner, Thor had his own corner, etc. But now, it feels like Feige is just jamming all those corners together and trying to make absolutely everything that happens in each new movie and show interconnected in some way, and it’s starting to get tiresome.

The connection between Black Widow and Hawkeye makes perfect sense, since those characters have always been strongly connected. But even then, did that connection need to involve that shady lady from Falcon and the Winter Soldier? And of course, the connecting line between Wandavision, Loki, What If?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is ridiculously overcomplicated and kind of harms all of them when all is said and done. Wandavision feels pointless now, and Wanda’s overpowering influence on the Doctor Strange film makes it feel less like a proper sequel to the original Doctor Strange that pushes the character and his own corner of the MCU forward and more like a big corporate stunt (gee, I wonder why Scott Derickson dropped out?) What If? material showing up in MCU films kind of violates the whole point and premise of that series. Doctor Strange’s involvement in No Way Home ...idk what exactly happened with this, but as things stand it ended up just being a cynical marketing ploy for Multiverse of Madness (even down to a literal trailer for it as the post-credits scene) given that nothing he actually does there ended up impacting his movie’s plot in any way. And now I’m a tad worried for Loki S2....

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings works best out of all the Phase 4 material because it’s more akin to what the MCU used to do: let a hero have their own corner of the universe to play in with only the necessary connections being made (Trevor Slattery because of fucking course, and Wong, Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers at the very end because Shang needs his Avengers registration so that he’s on hand for the big crossover events). Kevin Feige needs to start doing more of that again and stop fixating on connecting absolutely everything, otherwise it will alienate people and ultimately sink the franchise.

(You may notice I didn’t talk about Eternals here. And trust me, I plan to keep it that way.)

#Marvel #Opinion #Analysis #Bad Writing #Jumping the Shark #Anti-Kevin Feige #(Sort of)

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