Sometimes, the scariest hauntings aren’t from ghosts; they’re from memories you can’t outrun. “Black Phone 2,” released on Oct. 17th, 2025, is a graphic sequel to the hit 2022 film “The Black Phone.” The original movie follows a pair of siblings, Finney and Gwen Blake, as they are terrorized by a child kidnapper named The Grabber. The Grabber subdues and confines Finney in a basement, in which the ghosts of The Grabber’s previous victims help him escape. The sequel continues the storyline after a brief time skip, following Finney and Gwen as they struggle to make their way through high school while still trying to process their shared trauma from The Grabber. Finney developed unhealthy habits, growing into an easily provoked teen who often smokes and holds his constant anger beneath the surface while Gwen lives like a normal, everyday teenager until her dreams begin taking a turn for the worse. “Black Phone 2” further develops the psychologically horrific themes from the original movie; however, some tension is lost as the story progresses into a more dreamlike and confusing state.

The shift from Finney being the primary target of The Grabber to Gwen being haunted adds great emotional depth to the story in my opinion. Rather than rebranding the same kidnapping-centered plot, The Grabber’s presence manifests through Gwen’s dreams and imagination. She begins sleepwalking every night and eventually ends up at the spot where Finney was originally trapped. Gwen then convinces herself that the dreams have some sense of calling and are reaching out to her, leading her to believe that she and Finney must go to Alpine Lake Camp, where their late mother worked as a Counselor-in-Training. It is later revealed that The Grabber had also grown up at Alpine Lake Camp, and was responsible for the deaths of three children, which the main characters have to locate. Gwen’s friend, Ernesto Ochoa, is shown to have grown close to Gwen over the years, leading him to become a quiet love interest. Gwen tells him all of her darkest secrets, including Finney’s past trauma and her sleepwalking. This increasingly worries Ernesto, and he decides to accompany them to Alpine Lake Camp. His presence doesn’t just offer Gwen support, but also helps ground Finney, who is still in a constant struggle controlling his emotions. Together, the three of them drive to the camp, hoping to obtain information to uncover the mystery behind Gwen’s dreams. This dream-driven, surreal cinematography differentiates the sequel from a more traditional horror-themed movie in the first film. The special effects also make the movie feel more supernatural and hyper-realistic, particularly through scenes with The Grabber. In the first movie, The Grabber’s superpowers are subtle, but in the sequel, The Grabber is able to harm Gwen without the main cast being able to see him, so actions such as Gwen levitating happen throughout the movie. Rather than harming the story, these mysterious circumstances set “Black Phone 2” apart from other films with similar premises. 

The actors also play a major role in carrying the emotional weight of the movie. Madeleine McGraw, who plays Gwen, delivers a performance in which fear and curiosity blend seamlessly. She embodies Gwen’s bravery, confusion and vulnerability with tremendous authenticity. Her overall body language and voice make every scene personal, especially in moments when she overcomes her fear to protect Finney. This makes her a highly relatable character, even though she faces increasingly supernatural experiences. Mason Thames, returning as Finney, is equally as expressive. He powerfully conveys Finney’s desperation and anger to prove himself, shaped by the trauma regarding his past. Finney often puts on a tough demeanor, fighting classmates, acting like he knows everything and trying to stay strong for Gwen. Thames makes it clear that underneath his exterior, Finney is truly scared and lonely. The side characters also perform well, though I believe that some moments could have reflected fear more realistically. At times, their bravery felt inconsistent, as a majority of the side characters were frightened out of their minds, yet somehow acted brave when The Grabber finally appeared. Despite this, character development shines throughout the film, especially as Finney slowly becomes more open, specifically with Gwen’s love interest Ernesto, and begins to talk more honestly about his feelings. Thame’s portrayal of Finney’s emotional breakdown towards the end of the movie is also extremely powerful and highlights how Finney’s ignorance of his genuine feelings led to deeper pain over time. His acting truly captures the weight of Finney’s trauma and creates some of the film’s most memorable and emotional scenes.

Overall, “Black Phone 2” succeeds in adapting the effects of lingering trauma but fails in creating a realistic ending to accompany the movie. The pacing throughout the movie is really strong, and the animations and special effects are quite impressive; however, the final sequence feels genuinely rushed and underdeveloped. In the middle of the film, it is noted that the team needs to find all the dead bodies of the children in Alpine Lake Camp to defeat The Grabber. However, the team wasn’t able to find any of the bodies throughout most of the movie, but somehow managed to discover and bring them all to the surface of a frozen lake in a matter of a couple of minutes. I find that this abrupt shift truly undermines the past tension that was carefully built throughout the movie. The characters also gained a sudden surge of bravery near the end that feels unauthentic, and the fact that nobody dies during the final fight reduces the realism and emotional aspect built into the movie. While this film is effective in terms of suspense and trauma, a more realistic conclusion would have strengthened the movie to another level and made the overall ending so much more satisfying and credible. Through and through, “Black Phone 2” was a great sequel to the original, providing a new creative way to depict horror. Overall, I believe that “Black Phone 2” was better than “The Black Phone,” and I would rate it an 8/10. Even though the film struggled in warranting bravery of characters and creating an ending that embodied the movie, the pacing was great, the character development was really empowering and the horror-like aspects truly had me hooked.