BLACK PHONE 2 : Tuesday 2nd December 2025

I finally got around to seeing the MA15+ Rated 'BLACK PHONE 2' this week, and this American supernatural horror film is Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Derrickson and is a sequel to the 2021 film that took US$162M at the global Box Office off the back of a US$17M production budget, and was also Directed by Scott Derrickson. The film Premiered at Fantastic Fest on 20th September, was released in the US and here in Australia on 17th October, has garnered generally favourable critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$132M off the back of a US$30M production budget. 

The film opens in Alpine Lake Camp, Colorado in the winter of 1957 when extreme blizzard conditions cut off the camp. A teenage girl named Hope Blake is seen at a payphone anxiously talking to a girl on the other end, but the call ends abruptly with too much static on the line. She exits the phone booth and walks back to her cabin. We then fast forward to 1982, four years after Finney Blake (Mason Thames) was kidnapped by the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in the basement of the house across the street from where he lived, and whom he successfully killed. His fifteen year old sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins having dreams where she sees murders that happened at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957. During one such dream, she receives a call from her mother Hope (Anna Lore), who at the time of the 1957 murders was having similar dreams. 

Gwen convinces Finney and her good friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora), the brother of the late Robin Arellano who fell victim to the Grabber's earlier killing spree, to travel to Alpine Lake Camp. A heavy blizzard traps them there with the camp supervisor Armando (Damian Bichir), his niece Mustang (Arianna Rivas), and two camp employees, Kenneth (Graham Abbey) and Barbara (Maev Beaty). Because of the acute snowstorm all the other employees have left, and all other groups cancelled their bookings. The three kids begin investigating what Gwen's dreams might mean.

On the second night, Finney answers a call on the camp's dead payphone, this time from the Grabber. Speaking from death, the Grabber vows revenge on his sister then on him, blaming Finney for forcing him to kill his own brother and for ending his life. Within minutes, Gwen is violently attacked in her dream while sleepwalking into the camp kitchen, by the Grabber. 

Armando, Mustang, Kenneth and Barbara all rush to her aid while hearing the commotion unfolding in the kitchen, to witness an unseen force tossing Gwen around the place like a rag doll. Finney, Ernesto, and Mustang manage to save her from being hurled into an incinerator, as the image of the Grabber slinks back into the darkness.

The shaken group gathers in the camp's chapel. Finney says that he spoke to the Grabber on the camps payphone to which Armando responds that the phone booth hasn't worked for at least the last decade. Barbara says that Gwen is possessed by the Devil, which Gwen immediately refutes. Gwen deduces that they must find the long lost bodies of the Grabber's first three victims from Alpine Lake Camp in order to loosen his power over the dream state. The group deduces that the bodies of young lads Felix (Simon Webster), Cal (Shepherd Munroe) and Spike (Chase B. Robertson), must be beneath the frozen over nearby Lake Maru.

As they investigate further, they discover that Armando, Hope, and the Grabber (back then known as Wild Bill Hicock, because he hung his tool belt low and loose around his waist like the famous Cowboy) had all known each other at the camp long ago. That night, Gwen dreams of the Grabber. He reveals to her that her mother Hope did not commit suicide and he actually killed her, staging it to look like a self-inflicted hanging in the garage of their family home, only to be discovered by her distraught father Terrence (Jeremy Davies) who has always blamed himself for her death. He then attempts to kill Gwen, with a slash to the lower arm sustained in the dream manifesting in reality. She manages to gain power in her dream and fight back against the Grabber, before being woken up by Finney and Ernesto. 

Meanwhile, Armando is searching for the boys' bodies. Later that night while Armando is alone in his office he hears the Grabbers voice speaking to him over the camp's two way radio. The lights then go out, and using a flashlight he sees the Grabbers face imprinted in snow on his office window. The next day, Terrence arrives, having borrowed a snowplough from his place of work to get there, with the thought that the four of them would head straight home. Gwen confronts both Terrence and Finney on their abuse of alcohol and drugs to avoid thinking about their traumatic pasts. Gwen says she is staying to defeat the Grabber and put the murdered boys to rest, and Finney and Terrence reluctantly agree to stay also having been told some painful home truths. 

Later, joined by Kenneth and Barbara, the group returns to the frozen lake to again search for and recover the three missing boys. Gwen prays to Jesus to keep her alive and succeed in her mission to find the boys. As night falls on the lake, an exhausted Gwen falls asleep again and is attacked by the Grabber, and who approaches on ice skates wielding his axe. The Grabber also attempts to murder Finney, Terrence, and the others present. During the ongoing struggle, Gwen locates the boys' skeletal remains in barrels beneath the ice which she pushes to the surface, so removing the Grabber's power. Finney, Gwen, and the spirits of the murdered boys attack the Grabber causing him to fall on the ice twice, and losing hold of his axe which slides to Gwen's feet. Gwen then implants his axe in his forehead, and then Finney smashes the Grabbers face hard against the ice numerous times. Gwen then uses the axe again to chop off his lower leg which is being held by the decomposed remains of one of the boys, as he is dragged into the frozen lake by Finney, and dragged down into the depths by the spirits of the three boys. The next day, as Gwen, Finney and Ernesto prepare to leave with Terrence, Gwen answers a call on the payphone, in which Hope tells Gwen that she is proud of her and her brother, that she is in a beautiful place and the three boys are by her side. 

With 'Black Phone 2' Director and Co-Writer Scott Derrickson has crafted a more than reasonable follow up to its 2021 predecessor. The frozen mountains, forests and lakes of Colorado in mid-winter is an effective backdrop to the film that makes for an engaging story with a few jump scares and well paced action sequences that take the Grabber from his suburban setting back to his very roots where his appetite for murdering young kids all began. The relationship between the teenagers is well carried through and we see more of the story arc between Gwen, Finney, their father and to a lesser extent their late mother that helps fill the gaps left after the first film. As for the Grabber, now that he has descended into the depths of Hell and returned to wreak revenge on the person who put him there, Ethan Hawke puts in a commanding performance, aided by some scene stealing set pieces. You could easily be forgiven for thinking that this is a blatant rip off of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' franchise which sees Freddy Krueger manifest himself through your dreams, but given that over forty years has passed since that first entry into that series, I think that the team of Writers, Producers and Director can rest easy that they have made something fresh and that stands on its own two skates.

'Black Phone 2' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 16th October 2025

This years Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) runs from Wednesday 15th through until Sunday 26th October in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. AFF is South Australia’s premier screen event and one of Australia’s leading film festivals. It’s a celebration of courageous cinema where filmmakers and audiences come together for two weeks of local and international film premieres, art, talks and parties in October. Named as one of the top fifty film festivals in the world by Variety, and winner of the 2021 Ruby Award for Best Festival, AFF has a reputation for being distinct and innovative. AFF screens features, shorts, documentaries and moving image projects you can’t see anywhere else - from both emerging and established Australian and global talent. AFF is renowned for its warmth and inclusivity, welcoming new audience members and industry guests alike to South Australia and its eclectic cinema theatres . . . so reads the official website.

This years Opening Night Gala film presentation is 'Jimpa' from Australia, Netherlands and Finland and Directed by Sophie Hyde. In Amsterdam, an Adelaide filmmaker Hannah (Olivia Colman) and their non-binary teen Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) reconnect with the family’s flamboyant patriarch known as Jimpa (John Lithgow). As old tensions resurface, Jimpa becomes a tender, emotionally precise portrait of queer family, care and the shifting boundaries between generations. The Closing Night Gala feature film is 'Wolfram' from Australia and Directed by Warwick Thornton and set in 1932 in Central Australia, marking the follow up to his acclaimed 'Sweet Country'. Aboriginal children are forced into wolfram (tungsten) mining until violence entangles them with ruthless outlaws. At the heart of the story is Pansy (Deborah Mailman), longing for her stolen children in a tightly wrought western of reckoning.

This years Feature Fiction Film Competition sees the following entries :-

* 'Vanilla' - from Mexico and Directed by Mayra Hermosillo. In late-1980's Mexico, Vanilla is a textured family drama told through the eyes of a young girl raised by seven formidable women. As debt threatens their home, she witnesses resilience, tenderness and struggle that reshape her sense of belonging and the meaning of family. Australian Premiere.

* 'Reedland' - from the Netherlands and Belgium and Directed by Sven Bresser in his feature film debut. Johan harvests reeds in the Dutch marshlands. When he discovers the body of a girl, he embarks on a search for the killer. Australian Premiere.

* 'Perla' - from Austria and Slovakia and Directed by Alexandra Makarova. In 1981 Vienna, a Slovakian exile struggles to support her daughter. When the child’s father re-appears in her life, Perla makes the dangerous journey back to communist Czechoslovakia, where she is torn between the demands of conflicting loves that threaten to pull her life apart. Australian Premiere.

* 'Phantoms of July' - from Germany and Directed by Julian  Radlmaier. When Ursula and Neda embark on a ghost hunt, their encounter becomes a story of eccentric locals, spectral rumours and the surprising connections strangeness can spark. Australian Premiere.

* 'A Useful Ghost' - from Thailand, France, Singapore and Germany and Directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, here we have a politically tinged, absurdist comedy/drama in which the ghost of a young woman returns to her husband as a bright-red vacuum cleaner, determined to prove herself a loving ghost.

For the details of the Feature Documentary Film Competition, plus all the other film strands being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org

Homing in on this weeks five new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with a psychological thriller in which a college professor finds herself at a personal and professional crossroad when a star student levels an accusation against one of her colleagues, threatening to expose a dark secret from her own past. This is followed by another psychological thriller telling the story of when his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Then we turn to a supernatural horror film sequel that sees this young man, now 17, struggling with life after his captivity and subsequent escape having killed his abductor, when his sister begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions. Next up is a crime comedy drama offering based on an unbelievable true story, the film follows a former Army Ranger and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s. And closing out the week we have a drama film telling the story of a group of troubled boys who are kidnapped, abandoned and forced into a ruthless 'Wilderness Therapy' programme in the Utah desert, and cut off from the world, they must survive both the elements and the mind games of a director who may not be trying to save them at all.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'AFTER THE HUNT' (Rated MA15+) - is a psychological thriller film Co-Produced and Directed by Luca Guadagnino who prior feature film making credits include his debut offering in 1999 with 'The Protagonists' and which he would follow up with the likes of 'I Am Love' in 2009, 'A Bigger Splash' in 2015, 'Call Me by Your Name' in 2017, 'Suspiria' in 2018, 'Bones And All' in 2022, and both 'Challengers' and 'Queer' in 2024. This film had its World Premiere showcasing out of competition in this years Venice International Film Festival in late August, where it received mixed reviews from critics. It saw a limited released last week in the USA, before going wide from this week. 

Alma Olsson (Julia Roberts) is a respected, well-liked professor at Yale University, who is forced to grapple with her own secretive past after one of her colleagues Henrik 'Hank' Gibson (Andrew Garfield) is faced with a sexual abuse allegation involving one of her students, Margaret 'Maggie' Resnick (Ayo Edebiri). Also starring Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloe Sevigny. 

'BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER' (Rated MA15+) - this British psychological thriller film is Directed by Edward Berger whose most recent feature film making credits are the two critically lauded films 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Conclave'. This film is based on the 2104 novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. Here, Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell) is laying low in Macau, spending his days and nights on the casino floors, drinking heavily and gambling what little money he has left. Struggling to keep up with his ever mounting debts, he is offered a lifeline by the mysterious Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a casino employee with secrets of her own. However, in hot pursuit is Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton), a private investigator ready to confront Doyle with what he is running from. As Doyle tries to climb to salvation, the confines of reality start to close in. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Telluride Film Festival on 29th August, will have a limited release in the USA, UK and here in Australia from this week before streaming on Netflix from 29th October. 

'BLACK PHONE 2' (Rated MA15+) - is an American supernatural horror film Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Derrickson and is a sequel to the 2021 film that took US$162M at the global Box Office off the back of a US$17M production budget, and was also Directed by Scott Derrickson. Bad dreams haunt fifteen-year-old Gwen (Madeleine McGraw, reprising her role from the first film) 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 (Mason Thames, also reprising), they head to Alpine Lake Camp to solve the mystery, only to confront the Grabber (Ethan Hawke, reprising), a killer who's grown even more powerful in death. Also starring Demian Bichir, Jeremy Davies and Arianna Rivas. The film Premiered at Fantastic Fest on 20th September, is released in the US and here in Australia this week, and has garnered generally favourable critical reviews. 

'ROOFMAN' (Rated M) - this American crime comedy drama film is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Derek Cianfrance who made his Directorial debut with 'Brother Tied' in 1998 and would follow this up with 'Blue Valentine' in 2010, 'The Place Beyond the Pines' in 2012, and 'The Light Between Oceans' in 2016. The film is a biopic of the fugitive Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), a former United States Army Reserve officer and struggling father, known colloquially as Roofman due to his propensity to steal from branches of McDonald's after entering their premises via the roof. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys 'R' Us store for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mum drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in. The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, was released in the US last week and has generated largely positive press. Also starring Ben Mendelsohn, Peter Dinklage, Juno Temple, LaKeith Stanfield and Tony Revolori.

'THE WILDERNESS' (Rated CTC) - is an American drama film that is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Spencer King who made his feature film debut in 2016 with 'Black Petunia' and would follow this up with the documentary 'Death on Me : The Story of Dex Osama' in 2020 and 'Time Now' in 2021. In this story, a group of troubled teenage boys are kidnapped from their homes and taken deep into the unforgiving Utah desert and forced to attend a wilderness therapy programme. Cut off from the outside world, their only path home lies in gaining the favour of the cryptic programme director, whose intentions are anything but healing. As rehabilitation slips into manipulation, the boys must choose to either endure the programme or find a way out. Starring Hunter Doohan, Lamar Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Sam Jaeger, Sean Avery and Liana Liberato. This film is released Stateside this week too.

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-