Following the chilling success of The Black Phone (2021), director Scott Derrickson returns with The Black Phone 2 (2025), a psychological horror sequel that dares to deepen the supernatural mythology while keeping its pulse on raw human fear. Where the first film gave us a harrowing tale of survival, the sequel expands into something even darker: vengeance, trauma, and the question of whether evil ever truly dies.
Set three years after Finney Blake escaped the clutches of the sadistic child killer known as "The Grabber," The Black Phone 2 follows a now-teenage Finney as he struggles to move on. Still haunted by memories of the basement, and the voices of the dead kids who helped him escape, Finney begins receiving calls again—only this time, they’re not from the past victims. They're from someone... or something else.
Meanwhile, in another town, a series of eerily similar child abductions begins. Despite The Grabber’s death, someone is following in his footsteps. When Finney hears the voice of a new victim on the disconnected black phone—someone still alive—he’s pulled into a new nightmare. With the help of his sister Gwen, whose psychic visions have grown stronger, Finney sets out to prevent the past from repeating.
What makes The Black Phone 2 compelling isn’t just its unsettling premise, but how it treats trauma with sincerity. The horror isn’t only in the ghosts or the killer—it’s in how Finney’s life has been shaped by survival. Mason Thames returns with a more mature and emotionally layered performance, portraying a teenager hardened by pain, but driven by empathy.
The supernatural elements are expanded subtly but meaningfully. The phone is no longer just a channel for the dead—it’s a bridge between worlds. One of the film's most haunting scenes shows Finney communicating with himself, a younger version warning him of what’s to come. It’s time-loop horror with a psychological twist.
Though the new villain lacks the iconic, theatrical menace of Ethan Hawke’s original Grabber, they embody a colder, more realistic evil. The sequel doesn't try to outdo the first in gore or spectacle, and that's its strength—it focuses on atmosphere, dread, and emotional stakes.
The Black Phone 2 doesn’t just repeat the original’s formula—it evolves it. With strong performances, deeper emotional resonance, and an expanded supernatural mystery, it’s a sequel that earns its place. The phone may be off the hook, but the horrors on the line are just beginning.
