The Black Phone 2 (2025)

  

  *THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BLACK PHONE FILM*

    Well, after being blessed with some outstanding original horror movies, we're getting back to sequels again. Horror movie sequels can be tricky, sometimes they can really add onto a franchise and take it to the next level (Friday the 13th, Halloween, Insidious, and Scream to name a few) and other times it is simply a soulless cash grab simply aimed at capitalizing on the financial success of the first film (also Friday the 13th, Halloween, Insidious and Scream again). The Black Phone 2, while not a bad film, seems to fall more into the latter category.

    After watching the first Black Phone, I was blown away; more of a psychological horror than its sequel, the first film managed to blend serial killer and supernatural horror in way that was seamless and completely believable to the audience. The tension throughout the film practically held the audience captive as well as the main character, and Ethan Hawke's performance was truly chilling and helped make his murderous character "The Grabber" a household name worthy of a Fortnite skin (this generation's highest honor). Unfortunately, while this second film does dive headlong into the supernatural, it does not maintain that same sense of on-the-edge-of-your-seat psychological horror, at least not for me. 

    Focusing more on jump scares and a lot of monologuing, the second Black Phone movie picks up a few years later, however, whereas young Finn (Mason Thames) was the primary focus of the first film, he now takes a bit of a back seat to his younger, clairvoyant sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). Obviously, the siblings are once again facing off against The Grabber, but this time he is more shades of Freddy Kreuger than John Wayne Gacy, and this results in mostly cheap scares with no real payoff. The movie mostly kept my attention, however, I believe this was mostly based off of goodwill from the first film, and unfortunately, this movie never quite approaches that same tension (they do keep talking about and showing scenes from the first movie, however, which only serves to remind me how much better that film was). 

    At the end of the day, if you are a horror fan, you will most likely find this movie entertaining enough if not somewhat forgettable. However, in my mind, I never really saw a reason for this movie to exist, and I was not convinced to alter my opinion after watching it. There are too many horror cliches and one-note characters and far-fetched "you didn't even realize this was connected all along" moments for this movie to really hit. Honestly, watching this film just made me want to rewatch the first one, which has significantly more Ethan Hawke (perhaps a huge reason why it was so much better). 

Rating: 6.5/10

One final slightly SPOILERY note on this film: 

I have to get this one off my chest... hypothermia just apparently doesn't exist in this film. Not one, but two characters are plunged deep into a completely frozen-over lake literally right after the worst blizzard since the 1940's and they didn't even show them huddling by a fire in a blanket or anything, they were just completely fine. Anyways...

Weapons (2025)

    Original cinema is back! With the release of Sinners earlier this year (my personal favorite film of the year so far) and now Weapons (directed by Zach Cregger), original horror films have been on a roll lately. Much like Sinners, Weapons is a film that has slowly but surely been building up steam on the hype train. The script caused a fierce bidding war (allegedly Jordan Peele was so displeased that his company wasn't able to obtain the script that he fired members of his team), and having now seen the film I completely understand why. Weapons may be the craziest film I've seen in a long time, it never stops to question itself and it also avoids taking itself too seriously, which makes for the perfect blend of fun and horror. 

    If you've seen the trailers you already know the premise, 17 elementary-aged school children disappear overnight, seemingly of their own free will and with no trace or sign of where they went. The parents are furious and want answers (personally, I want to know how not a single parent heard their child running out of the house in the middle of the night but I digress), but no one seems to have any, including the children's teacher (Julia Garner, who is having a "fantastic" summer at the box office). One of the film's greatest strengths is the non-linear narrative; focusing on one character's point of view at a time, the film is split into chapters that are excellently paced, and build anticipation with each narrative change.

    Despite the crazy events that take place throughout the story, after the opening narration sequence, the movie never slows down to try and explain what's happening, trusting the audience to make connections on their own, which I love (filmmakers have faith in your audience, we're not all dumb, I promise). In fact, throughout the film several characters simply exclaim "what the f$#@!" when something shocking or crazy happens, but most don't stop to investigate further (except for Josh Brolin's character, who plays the parent who has to take the search for his child into his own hands because the cops aren't getting anywhere).

    Additionally, if you are a fan of gore, you are in for a treat as there are a few scenes in this film that are not for the faint of heart (one scene in particular had the entire theater I was in reacting wildly). There are also a few excellent jump scares, but the film doesn't rely on them too heavily. I could go on praising the movie, but honestly this is a film you simply need to see for yourself. Hopefully, this film will makes waves at the box office and further prove to Hollywood that the people are craving new and original films that forego the standard formulaic format; the theater I was in was packed and I've heard a lot of buzz around the movie so I am hopeful. After the credits began to roll, I overheard one moviegoer proclaiming "this movie understands me!" and I couldn't relate more.


-Ryan Maples


9.5/10

Hereditary (2018)

    If you are a horror aficionado, chances are you may have already seen Ari Aster’s debut film, Hereditary. Hailed by many as one of the greatest horror movies in recent years, Hereditary is also a film about grief and how people process this emotion differently. In fact, this film is almost more interesting when it is delving into the how the different stages of grief exhibit themselves in unique ways (especially with Toni Collette’s character). At one point in the film, Collette's character is literally heaving while on all fours as she rocks back and forth, screaming "it hurts too much!" While this kind of display could easily come off as melodramatic if not executed properly, instead it stands out to me as one of the better portrayals of pure agonizing grief by an actor or actress in recent memory.

    Otherwise, Hereditary contains many of the familiar horror tropes: strange-looking child, house out in the middle of nowhere with a spooky attic, creepy dollhouses, witches, the occult, seances (seriously people just say no to seances it never ends well), and evil books that can’t be destroyed. The movie doesn't rely on "jump scares" really at all, however, it does contain one of the most shocking scenes I've seen in a while that will probably leave you with your mouth hanging open for a second.

    In my opinion, the acting truly carries this film, Toni Collette does a fantastic job of portraying a horribly grief-stricken mother and her facial expressions convey every emotion from apathetic depression, to burning anger, to sudden horror (during one screaming match at the dinner table I was convinced that her eyes were going to pop right out of their sockets). Alex Wolff also plays his part as the bewildered and terrified son, while Gabriel Byrne portrays the classic "dad who looks like he'd rather be anywhere else right now" role.

    I won't delve too much into the plot, because it's hard to discuss too much without inadvertently spoiling things, but I will say that a majority of the film is "teasing" what is to come, however, once we get to then end, things move quickly. Although I found the ending to be fascinating, I was ultimately a little disappointed that we didn't get a more thorough explanation or more closure on what transpired. Admittedly, this is probably what Aster was going for in leaving some questions unanswered, however, I think one last scene would have really wrapped things up nicely. I wouldn't say Hereditary is one of my all time favorite horror films, but it is an enjoyable and intriguing ride.


-Ryan Maples


Rating: 7.75