The Black Phone is pure suspense-laden horror, but will it keep audiences in suspense by having them wait for an end-credits scene? Directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Ethan Hawke, it joins the impressive list of horror movies releasing in the summer of 2022. How it will stack up remains to be seen, with The Black Phone‘s release date set for the 24th of June.
The Black Phone premiered in 2021 at Fantastic Fest and is based on a short story by Joe Hill. The story revolves around a figure known only as “The Grabber” (played by Hawke) who wears an eerie mask, abducts children, and locks them in his basement for a prolonged time. When his sixth victim, Finney (Mason Thames), finds himself locked in The Grabber’s soundproof basement with nothing but a disconnected phone, there seems to be little hope until the phone rings and the disembodied voices of The Grabber’s previous victims try to help him escape. Twists, turns, and terror follow Finney through the rest of the film.
Like Sinister before it, The Black Phone is written by C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson and stars Ethan Hawke. It spends its runtime ramping up suspense and utilizing jump scares in horrifying and satisfying ways. It also wraps up its entire story before the credits roll, meaning that there’s no after-credits scene for The Black Phone, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth sticking around until the very end. It’s always encouraged to stay through the credits as a way to honor all of those involved in bringing the movie to life.
While The Black Phone doesn’t have an end-credits scene, it might be well worth a viewer’s time to sit through the credits and come down from the twisty and anxiety-inducing film they just watched. Ethan Hawke revealed in an interview that his character in The Black Phone is “evil incarnate.” The film might give any viewer some things to think about or some nightmare fuel to deal with, so some time to digest the movie could be just what the doctor ordered.
The Black Phone has been one of the most anticipated horror movies of 2022. With a Rotten Tomatoes score in the high 80s, it seems like the anticipation has been warranted. Now that it’s here in all its horrific glory, audiences can decide for themselves if it was worth the wait. Even without a post-credit scene to look forward to, the savvy viewer might want to take some time once the film is done to bask in all the terror The Black Phone has to offer.
