This is True Detective meets Stephen King; missing kids with a hint of the supernatural – but it goes nowhere.

| Dec 11, 2024

The Black Phone might not be consistently terrifying, but it has its moments. Ultimately, it is let down by an undercooked, patchy script and odd stylistic and editing choices that remove well-built tension.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 3, 2024

In The Black Telephone some of the director's stylems are observed, such as the prominence of children/adolescents in the action, perverse villains who hide their faces behind peculiar masks, and the presence of pagan or religious elements.

| Original Score: 7.5/10 | Aug 21, 2024

The Black Phone isn’t just the best film Scott Derrickson has made thus far… it’s a larger testament to the kind of humanity and imagination that can come out of modern horror.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 23, 2024

The filmmaking team behind “Sinister” (2012), director and co-screenwriter Scott Derrickson, co-screenwriter Robert Cargill and Hawke, reunite for another hit. Think John Irving’s “A Prayer for Owen Meany” except framed in the horror genre.

| Jun 9, 2024

Based on Joe Hill’s book of the same name, the creators provide one of the most memorable contemporary horrors, discussing loss, domestic violence, supernatural, and much more.

| Original Score: A | Apr 10, 2024

It's not groundbreaking, but it's very well done.

| Jan 18, 2024

Here’s one of those supernatural thrillers that would actually be better off without the supernatural elements.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 14, 2023

Derrickson has succeeded in making a film that is definitely worth any horror fan's time. Is it a new classic? No, but by hell, it is one fun ride.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 31, 2023

The Black Phone carries a horror premise with a supernatural touch full of potential, but it plays too safe by betting on a narrative that's too simple, predictable, and repetitive.

| Original Score: C+ | Jul 25, 2023

A New Horror Icon lives

| Jul 25, 2023

Ethan Hawke attempts to scare in a straightforward serial killer nightmare that is about as satisfying as a one-minute payphone call.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 21, 2023

Derrickson is comfortable navigating dark and demented worlds, so it's frustrating when "The Black Phone" doesn't come together in a successful way.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 16, 2023

Derrickson prioritizes jump-scares and sustaining a disquieting mood over the lives of these kids. He loses himself in the technique when the real nightmare is staring him right in the face.

| May 30, 2023

These additions significantly alter the tone of the original story for better or worse depending on what kind of horror movie you’re looking for.

| Original Score: B- | Feb 18, 2023

It’s a B-movie abduction flick centered in the 80s that values simplicity over complexity. And ultimately, The Black Phone is a theatrical experience that is sure to get your blood pumping.

| Original Score: B- | Feb 10, 2023

Scott Derrickson's return to his horror sandbox, The Black Phone, is a fantastic vintage horror film that utilizes sound against its audience.

| Jan 9, 2023

Ethan Hawke continues his spectacular mid-career run in a rare villainous role.

| Jan 3, 2023

The Black Phone is easily one of the best horror/trillers this year. The young cast members Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw light up ever scene they are in & then Ethan Hawke becomes something horrifically unknown and yet interesting. A MUST WATCH FILM!

| Original Score: 10/10 | Dec 26, 2022

a good ole fashioned scary night out at the movies filled with dead kids, creepy masks, and haunting 8mm film.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 2, 2022