Black Phone 2 (2025) | Film Review

So very much like the first film, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see this. Really enjoyed the first film, and I was curious about how they were going to do a sequel after Finney sent The Grabber to an early grave at the end of the previous film. Well folks, strap in for one hell of a ride.

I’ll admit it is more of a rarity, especially nowadays, that a sequel is better than its predecessor. But, similar to Terminator 2: Judgement Day (James Cameron, 1991), Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi, 1987), The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974), The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) and Adams Family Values (Barry Sonnenfield, 1993), I felt this one was very much a step up from the first film.

**Some Spoilers Below.**

Bad dreams haunt 15-year-old Gwen as she receives calls from the black phone and sees disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp. Accompanied by her brother, Finn, they head to the camp to solve the mystery, only to confront the Grabber -- a killer who's grown even more powerful in death.

The first film focused on Finney (Mason Thames) and his struggles with trying to survive The Grabber, with some help from his previous victims. Whilst Finney is integral to both the plot and the film, Madeline McGraw’s Gwen takes centre stage in the sequel in this one.

The story continues four years after the events of the first film as we see Finney struggling with the aftereffects and trauma of his time with The Grabber whilst self-medicating with “the Devil’s Lettuce” as Armando (Demián Bichir) describes it. Gwen’s clairvoyance has stepped up its game dramatically and she is having even more visions than she did previously, which leads them to the Alpine Lake Camp- Gwen’s clairvoyance and visions are the driving force behind moving this film forward.

The film expands the story in a way I wasn’t expecting and connects ‘The Blakes’ to The Grabber long before he kidnapped Finney. Whilst the supernatural element was a key factor in the first film, this one leans into the supernatural side of the story a lot more. I can’t really say a lot more without giving stuff away, but it’s enjoyable, well-paced, creepy and incredibly well done. Gore and SFX was on point as well.

Black Phone 2 (2025) | Film Review

The cast were fantastic again, and it was great to see another familiar face in a returning role. Gwen & Finney’s P.O.S father Terrence (Jeremy Davies) makes a re-appearance (well much more than a re-appearance) as a new man. Trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife and raise two kids as a single father he turned to booze to medicate- which of course mad him a real piece of work. That scene he beats Gwen in the first film I still find difficult to watch to be honest.

Anyway (spoilers sorry folks), he’s sorted himself out, is actually being a father to Finney & Gwen and is on the cusp of getting his ‘3 years sober’ chip thanks to a 12-step programme. It was a nice touch seeing him turn himself around and have a relationship with his kids. Makes for one of the few light-hearted, more positive parts of the film.

Miguel Mora also returned to the franchise as Robin’s brother Ernesto, who is wonderful supporting character, and the polar opposite of his brother. Demián Bichir, Arianna Rivas, Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey were all welcomed additions. Beaty and Graham as religious zealots Barbara and Kenneth made for quite a few funny moments during the film. Simon Webster, Sheperd Monroe and Chase P. Robertson were also wonderful in their respective roles as more undiscovered victims of The Grabber.

Mason Thames & Madeline McGraw were even better than they were in the first film. Gwen definitely has not lost her anger, quick wit and flare and McGraw expanded on the character well. Thames was equally as good, brought a lot of heart and relatability to his character as he difficultly tries to navigate his life after being kidnapped and nearly gutted. They share great chemistry on screen together as brother and sister and bounce off each other well. Was nice seeing Gwen more involved and having a much larger role than she did in the first. But again, like its predecessor, there was one man whole well and truly stole the show here.

Ethan Hawke, take a bow! The Grabber has essentially gone full Freddy Krueger (so to speak) in this film and is much more powerful than the previous film. As I said above, I can’t say too much without giving stuff away…but he was an absolute pleasure to watch in this. He is even more terrifying, and you can tell Hawke has had a blast portraying him a second time. He’s an unstoppable force clinging onto the one thing that gives him power enough to return from the grave; he’s hell bent on revenge (after all, Finney did make him kill his own brother) with an insatiable thirst for blood.

His mask has also been slightly altered to reflect his time in this film’s version of Hell. Added more depth to his character and made him even creepier than he was in the first. Right, that’s enough Adam, or you’re going to ruin the entire film for anyone nice enough to bother reading your review…

Overall, a fantastic sequel, and as I said at the beginning of this review, a step-up from the first film. And that’s saying something as the first was amazing- well I thought so. It expands not only the story but the lore and mythology behind The Black Phone, and it made for an incredibly entertaining film with a few jump scares along the way. I’d definitely recommend watching this- especially if you enjoyed the first.

Whilst the ending was rather definitive, it wouldn’t surprise me if we had another- I mean the ending of the first I thought it was all over but here we are. Part of me would love to see more of Hawke as The Grabber, but I don’t want them to overdo it and end up releasing some half-assed money grab just to capitalise on the success of the first two films.

Black Phone 2 is out now.