The Black Phone (2022)
Last Watch Date - August 24, 2022
Total Times Watched - 1
Comments
I saw some folks mentioning this title online but knew nothing about it other than it was streaming on Peacock. WELL HEY, I have that! So here I am tonight, popping this flick on. As soon as the credits started to appear, I saw Ethan Hawke and got pumped. I love Ethan Hawke. This movie is set in the late 70s and has some feeling of that time, but I don't think the kids really nail that time period. I wasn't technically alive then, but I was SHORTLY AFTER THAT and their attitudes and demeanors didn't feel period-correct. Also they're kid-actors. You kind of know what to expect with them. Ethan Hawke is great in this (AS USUAL), and possibly saves it from being a total snoozer / run-of-the-mill thriller-horror.
Speaking of, this movie is horror only technically. It felt more like a thriller to me in the vein of Silence of the Lambs. But not legendary like that movie. There are elements of this that are incredibly hokey and stale. I thought the phone idea was kind of neat, but it treads a bit on other movies I've seen. I was hoping for a more intense climax, but this one was like watching the Bears in the playoffs: you have so much hope only to have it fizzle out when their offense can't score when it counts. They don't lose spectacularly, it's more of a "ugh, why."
Recommended?
Woo that's tough. I'll say NO I do not recommend it, but it's worth a watch if you're bored. Or love Ethan Hawke like me?
