Review of The Black Phone (2022) by Voodoo123 — 09 Oct 2022
The now well trodden Spielbergian sepia toned 70s setting is in play with a fantastic production quality and soundtrack. The psychic brother and sister combo face the tyranny of a small towns serial killer.
However despite brewing so many interesting narrative ideas (psychic powers, disfunctional upbringing, coming of age bullying, horror kidnapping, abuse) nothing ever really surprised me. Ultimately everything is played so safely there just wasn't enough tension.
Ultimately the lead character is just far too comfortable in his situation to translate any real tension to the audience. Given that it's supposed to be a horror/thriller I feel it ultimately failed in its goal.
And yet it was very entertaining in a sort of standalone TV pilot kind of way (although it's clearly just a one and done film). The cast, cinematography soundtrack and overall quality is superb.
This review of The Black Phone (2022) was written by Voodoo123 on 09 Oct 2022.
The Black Phone has generally received positive reviews.
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