HOLLYWOOD—”The Black Phone” it was quite the disturbing thriller when it was released in theaters back in 2021. The thriller involved a killer named ‘The Grabber’ portrayed with sensation by Ethan Hawke, who was kidnapping children and killing them. His most recent capture was a teen named Finney (Mason Thames) who managed to escape the killer’s clutches and take him out with the help of his clairvoyant sister, Gwen (Madelaine McGraw).

As in most Hollywood iterations, if you make a ton of a money, a sequel is bound to happen. So fast-forward several years later to 1982, and Finney is back, as well as Gwen for this sequel that dives into a realm that seemed all too familiar for me, with “The Black Phone 2.” Why? The Grabber is dead, yet, his presence is very much still all around Finney and Gwen, so it begs the questions: HOW?

Think Freddy Kreuger, but without the razor claws and wise one-liners. The Grabber has found a way to terrify, Finney and those people closest to him by attacking them while sleep, in particular his sister Gwen. Finney is not dealing with his ordeal well, smoking and fighting to deal with being a survivor of such a horrific situation. Gwen does his best to get him to open up to no avail, that is until she begins having dreams about The Grabber and his presence still being in her orbit.

Why is that crucial? Well, it seems that The Grabber has ties to a Christian camp, known as Alpine Lake where Finney and Gwen’s mother, Hope visited in the late 50s. Gwen’s dreams hint to murders that transpired at the camp that may be directly tied to The Grabber. I did love the mood and atmosphere of the film at a snowy, cold camp with religion tied in. Yeah, you can in some odd way predict where the narrative may be headed once a few things are revealed. I would NOT say predictable, but there is not a stunning moment or series or events that totally change the trajectory.

I like some of the scares and the mayhem that the movie brings to the audience without being over the top with the violence. There is tension building and we see that tension stretch, but also culminate at the same time. I love this idea of writer/director Scott Derrickson taking a slice out of Wes Craven’s book with his iconic “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” People getting hurt, and actually dying from their dreams is scary.

The problem with “The Black Phone 2” is we’ve already seen it, so the movie takes a unique approach to try to sever it from that classic, but it works. Thames is solid in his reprisal, but McGraw is the star of this performance delivering some acting that is fascinating to watch. Hawke is still a standout, but he doesn’t get to eat up the role as he did in the first movie because he’s DEAD. The thriller loses points because no one actually dies considering this is a horror movie, but it places the characters we care about Finney and Gwen in serious danger and that keeps you invested in how things may turn out. You’ll have fun in the theater watching “The Black Phone 2.”