The Black Phone (2021)

Then I’m skipping it. Is it actually scarier than The Shire?

I have to agree with the posts above; the movie was tedious and frankly quite mediocre. I can't wrap my head around why the IMDb rating is so high—it seems like the only people who actually enjoyed it were five-year-olds.

Sent from my Mixer

I thought it was actually a decent watch.
It’s definitely not a masterpiece, I'll give you that.

It isn’t exactly bad, but it certainly isn't great either. The film feels unfinished, like it had all the ingredients for something special but lacked the direction to pull it together. The only saving grace is the soundtrack.

I’ve spent half an hour messing around with it, but I’m getting nowhere. Absolutely nothing is happening. It's tedious.

SPOILER: During the initial call, the deceased boy actually knows the captive's name and recalls some shared moments they had together, yet he can't even remember his own identity. 🙂.

Total misses in the comments section.
This is easily one of the better recent films—bordering on genius, really.
Of course, it’s clearly not for those who lack the capacity to see the bigger picture, people who resort to shallow logic just to feel clever by pointing out things like, "Wait, can a 90-pound kid actually take down an 180-pound guy?" Look, this isn't a detective procedural, and we aren't here to watch a crime being solved line by line through forensic evidence.

What we have here is a film about a generation raised amidst a pop culture saturated with violence—the very thing parents and teachers spent years warning them about. And the movie's core argument is that they were all wrong. The influence of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, heavy metal, and schoolyard brawls didn't ruin this generation; if anything, beneath that surface, the old-school values of loyalty, solidarity, nobility, and friendship remained intact. It isn't the police, the teachers, or even the father who takes down this psychopath; it's all those troubled kids working together. This monster belongs more to the era of their fathers than to the world of Sweet or Hell Raiser. The father is passive, moping and drinking, completely numb to the mystery—essentially emotionally walled off. Meanwhile, the kids play arcade games and get into fights at school, yet they remain open, and it is this invisible reality that triumphs over the supposed "harshness" of the world. An excellent film, 9/10.

Justin Richardson7 said:Total misses in the comments section.
This is easily one of the better recent films—bordering on genius, really.
Of course, it’s clearly not for those who lack the capacity to see the bigger picture, people who resort to shallow logic just to feel clever by pointing out things like, "Wait, can a 90-pound kid actually take down an 180-pound guy?" Look, this isn't a detective procedural, and we aren't here to watch a crime being solved line by line through forensic evidence.

What we have here is a film about a generation raised amidst a pop culture saturated with violence—the very thing parents and teachers spent years warning them about. And the movie's core argument is that they were all wrong. The influence of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, heavy metal, and schoolyard brawls didn't ruin this generation; if anything, beneath that surface, the old-school values of loyalty, solidarity, nobility, and friendship remained intact. It isn't the police, the teachers, or even the father who takes down this psychopath; it's all those troubled kids working together. This monster belongs more to the era of their fathers than to the world of Sweet or Hell Raiser. The father is passive, moping and drinking, completely numb to the mystery—essentially emotionally walled off. Meanwhile, the kids play arcade games and get into fights at school, yet they remain open, and it is this invisible reality that triumphs over the supposed "harshness" of the world. An excellent film, 9/10.

Man, you really went off the rails with this one. I probably wouldn't have even given this movie a look if you hadn't recommended it, so I figured, why not? Even though I don't always know where your taste lands, you usually take a swing at the majority opinion, and let's face it, the crowd is usually wrong. But not this time.

It's just a total drag—a mediocre, cookie-cutter flick packed with tropes we've seen a thousand times: kidnappings, basements, school drama, masks, paranormal stuff... There are so many incredible movies in this subgenre, but this one? It lacks even an ounce of originality, let alone genius. That "deep meaning" you think you found feels totally arbitrary; I highly doubt the director even intended for it to be there.

Stephen King isn't even close to his old man.

You owe me two hours of my life. 🙂

Nancy Bishop2 said:Man, you really went off the rails with this one. I probably wouldn't have even given this movie a look if you hadn't recommended it, so I figured, why not? Even though I don't always know where your taste lands, you usually take a swing at the majority opinion, and let's face it, the crowd is usually wrong. But not this time.

It's just a total drag—a mediocre, cookie-cutter flick packed with tropes we've seen a thousand times: kidnappings, basements, school drama, masks, paranormal stuff... There are so many incredible movies in this subgenre, but this one? It lacks even an ounce of originality, let alone genius. That "deep meaning" you think you found feels totally arbitrary; I highly doubt the director even intended for it to be there.

Stephen King isn't even close to his old man.

You owe me two hours of my life. 🙂

Fine, let’s just say I didn't actually recommend anything to you.
I am simply stating that this is an excellent film. It takes a lot to impress me, especially since most modern cinema—and by that, I mean everything released from 2000 onwards—fails to meet my standards, which dictates my viewing habits. This isn't really my cup of tea, particularly all that parapsychology and psychological nonsense you mentioned. Fortunately, that specific "layering" you're talking about is precisely what elevates this movie to something brilliant.

Sure, you could look at it your way; we have the classic trope of generational conflict, kids watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, acting like they're Bruce Lee, listening to heavy metal, getting into fights at school, and so on. You could argue all of that is irrelevant—but if you do, then the movie just becomes another cookie-cutter production filled with tired clichés like kidnappings, basements, school troubles, masks, etc. If you view it through that lens, then yes, it's just another tedious flick tailored for a specific subgenre audience. But once you engage with the nuance I'm pointing out, the film takes on a different shape entirely—it becomes great.

And so you don't end up disappointed, I actually do have some real recommendations for you this time: The Outfit (1973), The Golden Cage (2013), and Day of the Outlaw (1959). All of them sit well outside that mediocre, half-baked genre you seem to favor.😉

Justin Richardson7 said:Fine, let’s just say I didn't actually recommend anything to you.
I am simply stating that this is an excellent film. It takes a lot to impress me, especially since most modern cinema—and by that, I mean everything released from 2000 onwards—fails to meet my standards, which dictates my viewing habits. This isn't really my cup of tea, particularly all that parapsychology and psychological nonsense you mentioned. Fortunately, that specific "layering" you're talking about is precisely what elevates this movie to something brilliant.

Sure, you could look at it your way; we have the classic trope of generational conflict, kids watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, acting like they're Bruce Lee, listening to heavy metal, getting into fights at school, and so on. You could argue all of that is irrelevant—but if you do, then the movie just becomes another cookie-cutter production filled with tired clichés like kidnappings, basements, school troubles, masks, etc. If you view it through that lens, then yes, it's just another tedious flick tailored for a specific subgenre audience. But once you engage with the nuance I'm pointing out, the film takes on a different shape entirely—it becomes great.

And so you don't end up disappointed, I actually do have some real recommendations for you this time: The Outfit (1973), The Golden Cage (2013), and Day of the Outlaw (1959). All of them sit well outside that mediocre, half-baked genre you seem to favor.😉

Thanks for the suggestions. 🙂 I'll definitely check them out.

Am I really the only one who just realized today who the author of The Black Phone actually is? Like, whose kid is this guy?

Amanda Diaz2 said:Am I really the only one who just realized today who the author of The Black Phone actually is? Like, whose kid is this guy?

This came up earlier in the thread—not that it helps you much, I suppose—but I didn't catch onto it either.

Amanda Diaz2 said:Am I really the only one who just realized today who the author of The Black Phone actually is? Like, whose kid is this guy?

That totally explains why Stephen King mentioned it was one of the best horror flicks of the year! 🙂

Anyway, I finally sat down and watched it. It’s not bad! Honestly, the concept is great and the beginning really hooks you... but somewhere around the halfway mark, I kind of lost interest. The way things played out toward the end—especially with how Max handled that run-in with the cops—just felt a little underwhelming to me...