Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are fearless survivors in “Black Phone 2”

Now showing in PH cinemas

Four years after his escape from the clutches of The Grabber, Finn (Mason Thames) carries the trauma of the ordeal with him. In Black Phone 2, Finn, along with his sibling Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) relive the nightmare. Writer-producer Robert C. Cargill explains how they want to unpack Finn’s burden as a survivor and how it’ll play into the sequel. “Finn went through something horrific, and while he came out of it strong, the weight of what happened has not left him,” writer-producer C. Robert Cargill says. “He is haunted by the Grabber. He sees him everywhere, and he is using drugs to try to numb the fear. He wants nothing to do with the spirits, with the phone, with any of it. He is trying to shut it all out and live in denial. So, as Gwen starts uncovering this new mystery, Finn is doing everything he can to stay out of it. But of course, life does not let you run forever. Eventually, he will have to face what he has been avoiding.”

Ethan Hawke is out for revenge, resurrected as the Grabber in “Black Phone 2”

In PH cinemas Oct 15

Villains who leave a mark rarely stay buried, and in Black Phone 2, Ethan Hawke reprises his role as The Grabber, seeking out revenge from beyond the grave. “I wouldn’t have done it if Ethan was not willing to return,” writer-producer-director Scott Derrickson says. “He agreed to it before there was a script, which showed a surprising amount of trust in me. I recognized the appeal of bringing back the Grabber as a ghost.”

Black Phone 2 tells the tale of siblings Finn (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), as they struggle to reclaim their lives four years after the events of the previous film. Gwen starts receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone, and receives visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine lake. The siblings relive their nightmare when they visit the camp as the Grabber, now more powerful in death, seeks out vengeance.

True evil transcends death. The Grabber seeks vengeance in “Black Phone 2,” starring Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames

In PH cinemas Oct 15

2022 saw the release of The Black Phone to a successfully terrified audience, introducing the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) as a sinister new horror figure in moviegoers’ future nightmares. For writer-producer-director Scott Derrickson, the success of his film was personally gratifying. “It was extremely rewarding to see audiences embrace the film the way they did, specifically because so much of it came directly from my own childhood,” Derrickson says. “As an artist, seeing those personal feelings and memories connect with so many people—especially young people—added a sense of purpose to the darker memories of my childhood. It made me feel like it was all somehow meant to be.”