Scott Derrickson’s 2022 Black Phone ends in a definitive way. Things don’t turn out all that well for the story’s serial killer, known as The Grabber (brilliantly played by Ethan Hawke). The kid he kidnaps and throws into his basement is quickly aided by the ghosts of past child victims that suffered the Grabber’s methods. They communicate with the new boy, who is called Finney (Mason Thames), through a black phone with a severed line, hence the title. Once it’s all said and done, it’s obvious there’s no way we could’ve gotten a continuation of the story with the same killer. And then news broke out that Black Phone 2 was in the works and that Ethan Hawke was attached. Leave it to Derrickson and company to find a great excuse to bring the band back together for an unexpected sequel that seems to have struck gold based on the trailer that just dropped.
Whereas the first movie was based on a short story by Joe Hill, Black Phone 2 breaks new ground to continue building on The Grabber’s unique brand of terror and how his presence continues to haunt Finney. Gwen, Finney’s sister, starts having dreams of kids being stalked by someone at a winter camp. This prompts her to enlist her brother to search for any indication that the visions are true. Turns out, The Grabber’s back, and he’s now able to place his own calls on the black phone.
Both the official movie poster and the new trailer establish a cold and desolate tone. Snow and ice dominate the look and feel early on, communicating an intention to deliver a very different movie from the first. The Grabber is seen with his now iconic mask for most of the trailer, bar one special moment where he rips part of it off to for a gruesome shot of what’s beneath. At other instances the mask is shown to be somewhat covered in ice, hinting at a darker kind of death operating under the hood.
The Grabber looks primed for a bloodier affair this time around. The violence is certainly looking more sadistic, angrier. There’s a dream-like quality to the killer’s appearances in the trailer, giving off strong Nightmare on Elm Street vibes. The Grabber has become a vengeful spirit here, and it looks like he’ll be acting accordingly.
The most interesting wink to horror fans in the trailer, though, is found in a quick shot of The Grabber skating down the ice with an axe in hand. This is a clear nod to a 1983 slasher movie called Curtains, in which a killer wearing an old hag mask skates down the ice towards a woman that becomes paralyzed at the sight of what’s coming. This killer preferred a sickle rather than an axe.
Black Phone 2 is slated for release on October 17th, 2025, just in time for Halloween. Derrickson looks to be aiming for an experience that entirely upends expectations for fans of the first movie. It has the potential to be one of the most interesting sequels in genre if it gets it right. Horror isn’t necessarily known for being the home of great sequels. The Black Phone 2 trailer does inspire a lot more confidence than others of its kind. Keep it on your radar.
