North Denver, 1982. It’s been a few years since Finney escaped the grip of a nasty serial killer called the Raptor, and it’s really messed him up. He’s trying to shake off the trauma in whatever way he can, even getting into smoking pot. His sister, Gwen, who helped save him, is having a tougher time: she’s haunted by freaky visions of kids under a frozen lake. In her dreams, she picks up these strange calls and finds a weird link to an old winter camp from way back when her mom worked there in the ’50s. The creepy part? It’s like her mom’s talking to her from the past.

Gwen’s itching to get to the bottom of these visions. So she talks Finney and her maybe-boyfriend Ernesto into joining as counselors at this snowy camp called Alpine Lake. There, they stumble upon an eerie tale of disappearing kids and sense something still ties back to the Raptor—even though he’s been dead for ages now.

“Black Phone” didn’t seem like it needed a sequel after finishing up strong on its own but hey, success changes things! Besides, if Freddy Krueger could keep terrorizing teens from beyond the grave with no problem—why can’t our villain be that ghostly nightmare too? And since “Black Phone 2” happens in the ’80s era anyway well…it kinda just fits right in!
Scott Derrickson and his writing buddy C. Robert Cargill whipped up this movie based on a story idea from Joe Hill—yep, that’s Stephen King’s son. They sure know how to dive deep into a creepy vibe without just copying the old horror classics. Derrickson really nails that eerie, dream-like mood that goes way beyond just mimicking someone else’s work.

The guy’s been around in the horror world for a while and he cleverly sidesteps the whole ’80s throwback trap or turning this into another cookie-cutter sequel. The first “Black Phone” movie felt super tight and closed in, but this new one flips it with these wide-open spaces. Imagine being stuck out there in blizzards and icy lakes—it’s scary in its own chilling way, even if we do nod back to the dark, cramped scenes from before.

There is this part of the film that drags because it gets all talky—explaining stuff about what’s happening or even digging into some character psychology—and yeah, it kind of kills the buzz there for a bit. But don’t worry because before and after that sluggish bit, Derrickson pulls off some killer visuals and gripping moments that’ll have you on edge—with scenes so striking they hit you right where it counts.
This movie breaks down the whole Good vs. Evil thing with a twist, adding some mystical and religious vibes to the mix. While the story itself doesn’t bring anything truly fresh to the table, it’s how everything’s put together that grabs you—the careful setup and those perfectly timed jump scares keep you hooked.

The main trio is back from the last film: Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke continue nailing their characters just as you’d hope, but Madeleine McGraw absolutely steals the show. She’s playing this psychic little sister again, and man, she totally nails it. Her performance is so good and feels super real, making her character really stand out.