THE BLACK PHONE (2022)
Label: Universal Picture Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 103 Minutes
Video: Dolby Vision (HDR10) 2160pUHD Widescreen (2.39;1), 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD MA 7.1 with Optional English, Latin American Spanish and French Canadian Subtitles
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone, Ethan Hawke
The Black Phone (2022) is based on the short story by author Joe Hill (Locke & Key) and is co-written and directed by Scott Derrickson (10 Cloverfield Lane) who re-teams with his Sinister star Ethan Hawke (Daybreakers) to bring this 70s coming-of-age nightmare to the big screen. The story is set in a Denver, CO suburb in 1978 where a child-killer that's been dubbed "The Grabber" has been snatching kids from a dreary neighborhood. Amidst this we have siblings Finney (Mason Thames, Apple TV's For All Mankind) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw, TV's Secrets of Sulphur Springs) who live with their somewhat abusive and alcoholic, widowed father (Jeremy Davies, TV's Lost). At school Finney is bullied non-stop and his sister is often punished by her father for having or talking about her psychic-dreams/visions, which her disturbed mother, who killed herself, also suffered from.
The Grabbers most recent victims are kids Finney knew from the neighborhood; his classmate Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora), who protected him from bullies, and a kid named Bruce (Banks Repeta, HBO's The Outsider) who played baseball for a rival school. The next to be taken is Finney himself, who after encountering a creepy part-time magician driving a van (Hawke) wakes up in a dingey, soundproofed basement with a black phone mounted to the wall. After a period of time the Grabber makes himself known to Finney, wearing an unsettling demon-mask, telling the kid that he has no plans to make him do anything he doesn't want to do, and that he will eventually release him... and pointing out that the telephone mounted on the wall doesn't work. Finney is no dummy though, he knows this demented demon-masked nut has no intention of releasing him, and immediately sets about figuring out how to escape from the basement before whatever sick plans The Grabber has come to fruition. A strange thing happens while he's down there alone thought, the disconnected black phone on the wall begins to ring, and when Finney answers it, maybe expecting to hear the voice of The Grabber, he discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims who are communicating from beyond the grave, attempting to make sure that whatever awful things happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
The late-70's setting of The Black Phone is brought to life rather exquisitely, this is not the Spielberg or Stranger Things idealized version of the era, this is how I recall my small town feeling like in the early 80's, it feels lived-in with all sort of little touches like old school Corn Flakes boxes, cheesy horror flicks on TV, kitschy wall chotskies, goofy pop-culture references (Happy Days, The Partridge Family), and hand me down clothing worn by the characters - it all pulled me right in. I also love that it's filmed with a style that feels authentic to the period but also has a bit of extra-dinginess added to it. Throw era specific tunes like "Free Ride" and "Fox and the Run" that immediately put you in the proper frame of mind - so all the creating the period stuff is spot on. I also loved that Gwen's visions which were shot using super 8mm film, which gives it a retro-sheen that's all warm and fuzzy but also creepy. It gives those scenes an edge I don't think they could have achieved as well any other way.
I also love a good coming-of-age story crossed with a serial killer threat, this sits quite nicely alongside kindred spirits like Summer of '84, I Am Not A Serial Killer, and The Clovehitch Killer - but this is my favorite of that bunch depending on what day you ask me. The looks of The Grabber and his segmented demon-mask is super-creepy, it's designed by horror icon Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead), with Hawke letting the mask do a lot of the heavy lifting, but turning in a dark physical and voice performance behind it. The real stars here are child actors, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw as the sibling, who carry the film from start to finish. They are so good, giving multi-faceted performances that are nuanced, you really get behind them and feel their emotions and their fear.
Audio/Video: When I first reviewed the Blu-ray release I said "Sadly, no 4K UHD (yet...) for The Black Phone", but a year later Universal come through with the UHD with Dolby Vision (HDR10) WCG color-grading and Dolby Atmos upgrades. The Black Phone arrives on 4K Ultra HD framed in the original 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio, shot digitally the visuals are tight and concise with pleasing fine detail, it has a beige pallor to it by design that has the look of being stained by nicotine, or at least that what my mind conjured, it definitely capture the late 70's period the story is set in. Enhanced by the Dolby Vision (HDR10) color-grade the black levels and shadow detail noticeably improved, and with superior contrast, over the previous Blu-ray on the UHD, as this is a very dark movie, not just in tone but also in appearance, I appreciated the upgrade. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English Dolby Atmos or English DTS-HD MA 7.1with optional English subtitles. This has a killer sound design that creates lots of atmosphere with subtle and not-so-subtle elements, it's pretty terrific. We also get tense supportive score from Mark Korven (The Witch) that builds suspense and ratchets up the tension, and we get a sweet selection of 70's rock that sets the stage, choice cuts from the Edgar Winter Group, Sweet, and brilliant use of Pink Floyd's "On the Run" that is right up there with the way Michael Mann used Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in Manhunter - it sent shivers up my spine.
We get the same set of extras as the previous Blu-ray which include the Audio Commentary by Producer/Co-Writer/Director Scott Derrickson who gets into adapting Joe Hill's book and bringing his own flavor to it based on his childhood. He cover's a lot of ground with it and gets into the nitty gritty of making the film, the creatives that helped him bring it to life, and the contribution of special effects master Tom Savini who created the look of the mask. We also get a handful of EPK style extras featuring Director/Co-Screenwriter Scott Derrickson, co-screenwriter Robert C. Cargill, cast members Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jacob Moran, Banks Repeta, Brady Hepner, DP Jutkiewicz, Hair Stylists Priscilla Green and Weldon Steinke, Stunt Coordinator Mark Riccardi, Production Designer Patti Podesta, Set Costumer Laurel Pocucha Ojala, Make-Up FX Head Rick Pour. Mask Designer Tom Savini and Mask Creator James Baker. These add up to about 22-minutes and there's some cool behind-the-scenes footage peppered throughout. We also get the 1-min of Deleted Scenes, 2-min Theatrical Trailer and the 12-min Shadowprowler - A short film by Scott Derrickson. The two-disc 4K Ultra HD+ Blu-ray + Digital combo in a black 2-hub keepcase with a single sided sleeve of artwork. Inside there's a code for a digital copy of the film. We do not get a slipcover for this one, though the previous Blu-ray did.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Producer/Co-Writer/Director Scott Derrickson
- Deleted Scenes: Is This America Now?' No Dreams (1 min)
- Ethan Hawke's Evil Turn (4 min)
- Answering the Call: Behind-the-Scenes of The Black Phone (11 min)
- Devil in the Design (5 min)
- Super 8 Set (2 min)
- Shadowprowler - A short film by Scott Derrickson (12 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
Screenshots from the UPHE Blu-ray:
Extras:
