Scott Derrickson’s Black Phone 2 will push the unique’s supernatural serial killer story to nightmarish new depths, and in doing so it borrows closely from the easiest of the golden age of horror within the Nineteen Eighties. Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke will reprise their roles as Finney and the enigmatic now-dead serial killer referred to as The Grabber because the overarching narrative picks up three years after the occasions of the unique.
That temporal setting locations Black Telephone 2 in 1982, with a lot of the motion going down both in Finney’s hometown of Denver, Colorado, or the mountain retreat acknowledged as Alpine Lake Youth Camp. Fittingly, Derrickson and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill, who can also be coming back from the unique, loaded the sequel with references, themes, and motifs from a few of the most well-known horror motion pictures of the 80s.
Early reviews for the highly-anticipated sequel have been very optimistic, and it seems Derrickson and Cargill blended the precise parts collectively to create one thing completely distinctive, and undeniably scary. Whereas there could also be extra ready within the full runtime, we are able to establish at the least 10 totally different 80s horror classics whose DNA will be discovered within the aesthetic of Black Phone 2‘s trailer.
10
Curtains (1983)
Curtains is the definition of a cult traditional, because the 1983 Canadian slasher movie was late night time TV fodder up till it generated a resurgence in recognition within the twenty first century. The considerably campy, giallo-inspired gorefest’s wintry woods setting does plenty of the heavy lifting in connecting it to Black Telephone 2.
The impactful picture of the Grabber skating throughout the frozen lake together with his axe feels as if it may have been lifted from Curtains, which featured a scythe-wielding killer who decimates a gaggle of formidable actresses holed up in a mountain mansion. Curtains notably targets adults versus the everyday Nineteen Eighties sex-crazed youngsters.
9
The Burning (1981)
Impressed by an actual New York Metropolis city legend, The Burning facilities round a camp counselor who seeks revenge on a gaggle of campers after they set him on fireplace, horribly disfiguring him for all times. The Black Telephone 2 promotional supplies function a boy with a burned physique, and the Grabber’s hellish face (beneath the masks) definitely conjures comparable vibes to the maniac referred to as “Cropsy”.
8
The Evil Useless (1981)
The final word cult classic-turned mainstream, The Evil Useless rocked audiences within the early 80s with its unrepentant onslaught of gore and disturbing imagery, which in itself appears to jibe with what Black Telephone 2 goes for based mostly on the trailer. Including within the distant woods setting, and you have one other clear connection.
The Grabber’s undead visage, together with the scary spirits of the boys he murdered additionally align with a few of the numerous phases that the human characters undergo as their our bodies ae corrupted by the Deadites in The Evil Useless.
7
Friday the thirteenth (1980)
The camp connection is evident and apparent between Friday the thirteenth and Black Telephone 2, as each are set in a summer season camp that has been tormented by tragedy in its previous. The idea of a typically-idyllic lake setting hiding one thing a lot darker and extra evil is quickly obvious in Black Telephone 2.
The primary eight Friday the thirteenth motion pictures all happened within the 80s, and whereas it is clear Derrickson is not attempting to remind you of travesties like Friday the thirteenth Half VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, there’s clearly just a little Jason Voorhees within the brutality of the Grabber’s slayings.
6
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween II is nowhere close to the highest of anyone’s Favourite Halloween Films record, however the sequel themes that make it align with Black Telephone 2 are there. In John Carpenter’s masterpiece Halloween, Michael Myers is a deeply troubled and evil entity, however he’s nonetheless considered as a person, simply as The Grabber is in The Black Telephone.
Halloween II is the place Michael Myers actually started to really feel inhuman, and unkillable. The climax sees Laurie Strode shoot him within the eyes with a gun simply earlier than Dr. Loomis triggers and explosion that ought to utterly burn him and Michael to loss of life. Nonetheless, the hulking psychological affected person walks away from the explosion, advancing briefly earlier than lastly falling down.
Equally, Black Telephone 2 sees The Grabber stop to be a person and evolve into one thing else completely. He’s wholly evil, supernaturally highly effective, and it stays to be seen if he can in reality be destroyed as soon as and for all.
5
A Nightmare On Elm Avenue (1984)
That is maybe the obvious of comparisons for Black Telephone 2, as the central premise seems to be (based mostly on the trailers) that The Grabber can now attain kids of their desires, as he does with Finney’s youthful sister Gwen. If The Grabber is ready to trigger bodily hurt by harming the kid of their desires, then he is virtually a direct parallel for Freddy Krueger.
Like Krueger, The Grabber was a serial killer in life earlier than being reworked into one thing else in loss of life. Whereas Freddy was (within the authentic motion pictures) supplied the possibility to grow to be a dream demon by different hellish entities, it stays to be seen how The Grabber is ready to come again from Hell to kill once more.
4
The Fog (1980)
One other John Carpenter masterpiece, The Fog shares the theme of vengeance from past the grave with Black Telephone 2. The Grabber skates out of the fog over the water at Alpine Lake Youth Camp within the trailer, which is kind of just like how the vengeful entities emerge from the fog within the 1980 traditional.
3
The Shining (1980)
The Shining clearly served as inspiration for Black Telephone 2, as the icy Rocky Mountain setting dials proper down the middle of the aesthetic of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic masterpiece. The Grabber wielding his axe throughout a frozen panorama naturally conjures photographs of a maniacal Jack Torrance stalking by means of the maze exterior the Overlook Lodge, making for one more clear connection.
2
The Factor (1982)
Whereas the Black Telephone 2 trailers do not essentially outright state that the heroes are snowbound at Alpine Lake Youth Camp, it definitely looks like they could be given how a lot time is spent in that setting (based mostly on what we are able to see, anyway). That brings the chilly claustrophobia of The Factor to thoughts, with the chilly appearing as simply as large an impediment advert any ghostly slasher or alien predator.
1
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Debuting in 1983, Sleepaway Camp definitely caught some hell for being a Friday the thirteenth knockoff, with the teenagers-brutally-murdered-at-camp idea and mysterious killer identification definitely sharing loads of traits. Nonetheless, it is developed a cult following within the many years since, with its stunning twist ending incomes newfound respect, distinguishing it from different 80s slashers.
The camp setting and brutal teenage/little one homicide is definitely current in Black Telephone 2, and the truth that it virtually operates as a sneaky coming-of-age film is as effectively. As Finney grows up, he goes from being a sufferer of the Grabber to defending his sister, nailing the coming-of-age angle as effectively.
- Launch Date
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October 17, 2025
- Runtime
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114 Minutes
- Director
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Scott Derrickson
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Mason Thames
Finney Blake
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Madeleine McGraw
Gwen Blake
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Demián Bichir
Supervisor of Alpine Lake
