For many who like to show up the scares this time of 12 months, there are many upcoming horror films set to hit the 2025 film calendar this month and past. Amongst these is Black Cellphone 2, the sequel to the 2022 book-to-screen adaptation of a Joe Hill brief story. Scott Derrickson has returned as director and co-screenwriter, with Ethan Hawke again as The Grabber. Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw and Jeremy Davies additionally reprise their roles. So what are critics saying?
The first film acquired optimistic suggestions from critics — together with 4.5 out of 5 stars from our personal Corey Chichizola — so how does the sequel measure up? Nicely, it’s “higher,” in the event you ask Stephen King, and in CinemaBlend’s evaluation of Black Cellphone 2, Nick Venable would agree, saying the follow-up is “haunting, hypnotic, and surpasses all my expectations.” He offers it 4 out of 5 stars, writing:
Black Cellphone 2 is Derrickson’s most mature movie thus far and sits among the many few horror sequels that outperforms its predecessor in nearly each means. The solid, headed up as soon as once more by Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw, takes it to the subsequent stage in the identical means that the story does, convincingly giving Finney and Gwen the prospect to show themselves as real heroes on prime of being survivors. And naturally, Ethan Hawke instructions consideration each time he’s on display screen donning tweaked variations of The Grabber’s already iconic masks.
Jordan Bassett of NME additionally charges it 4 out of 5 stars, saying Scott Derrickson goes even greater with the sequel, dialing up the menace for a flick that’s bloodier than its predecessor. The critic says:
The units are lusher, the kills gorier and the baddie (performed with venomous glee by Ethan Hawke) is nastier nonetheless. It is a horror that’s in love with scary films; a post-modern remix of style classics filmed via an arthouse gauze that by no means obscures its goofy sense of humour.
Matt Donato of IGN offers it a “Good” 7 out of 10 and says Black Cellphone 2 is proof that horror sequels don’t should be retreads of the unique and may as a substitute go additional to push for standalone attraction. Donato continues:
Black Cellphone 2 is an efficient sequel that boils over with reinvigoration. Colorado’s blustery winter circumstances paint a pristine snowcapped backdrop for The Grabber’s origins, the place he forces Finney and Gwen to confront their demons from past the grave. It is extra about how survivors course of trauma than it’s a woodland killing spree, however that does not stop white powder from being splattered with blood like a Jackson Pollock portray. Black Cellphone 2 may take a beat to achieve prime speeds, however as soon as every thing’s singing in concord—from The Grabber’s supernatural revenge plot to Gwen’s harnessing of her medium-esque powers for good—it’s greater than a worthy follow-up.
Peter Debruge of Selection is one in every of many critics to seek out parallels between the upcoming Blumhouse horror and A Nightmare on Elm Avenue, because of how desires are concerned in each films. The critic notes that whereas The Black Cellphone is about the specter of violence and abuse, its sequel offers with the trauma of surviving these items, not only for the victims however for his or her households. Debruge writes:
It’s remarkably scary, contemplating the deliberate tempo and the way few individuals really die in Black Cellphone 2, which I credit score to how all bets are off when coping with desires. The film strives to use logic, inviting laughs (which aren’t unwelcome within the tense style), however finally succeeds by devising a system the place two threats — ghosts and serial killers — come calling.
Not all the critiques are so optimistic, although. Matt Singer of ScreenCrush says he was not grabbed by this horror flick and its outdated know-how. He charges the film 4 out of 10 and says:
Derrickson fills his body with retro horror vibes, however he depends on them for too lengthy and with too little variation. Translating the visible language of 8mm dwelling films right into a dream is a cool thought the primary time Black Cellphone 2 does it; by the eighth time the movie goes again to that effectively, it begins to really feel as previous as a rotary phone. There’s simply not sufficient creativeness on show in these sequences or the Grabber’s strategies to maintain them participating over the course of a two-hour film.
General, critics appear to have loved Black Cellphone 2, because it stands at 78% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. For those who loved the primary film and wish to meet up with Finney, Gwen and The Grabber, the sequel can be in theaters beginning Friday, October 17. For those who haven’t seen The Black Cellphone (or need a refresher), the film is obtainable to stream with a Peacock subscription.
