We often dissect who the best horror directors are. Names like Sam Raimi, James Wan, Wes Craven or perhaps John Carpenter. At the same time, those are the type of directors that have longer careers and have been able to build out an esteemed horror résumé. Newer ones like a Jordan Peele, Andy Muschietti, Ari Aster or a Robert Eggers still need a bit more time to be in the pantheon of some of the best horror directors. One name that definitely needs to be in that conversation is Scott Derrickson. Derrickson is a really special director that hasn’t made tons of movies, but really has a neat and unique eye for the horror genre. His first directing effort goes all the ay back in 2005 with The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a small and very quiet supernatural horror film that gave us a sense of his take on the genre. Unfortunately, his next feature film was the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves (the less said about that movie the better). It was with Derrickson’s horror feature Sinister where his storytelling in horror started to become increasingly more appetizing. He followed that up with Deliver Us from Evil and he then was brought on board to direct the biggest movie at the time of his career with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Doctor Strange. While he was attached to do the sequel to Doctor Strange ( Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as it’s now known), his departure from the project was a bit shocking, considering he was planning on making the MCU’s first true horror picture. What we got with Sam Raimi was something special but it would have bene very interesting to see what Derrickson could have done with it.
Be that as it may, his desertion from the project left him to make the The Black Phone, a project he and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill have been working on for sometime, even at that point when he abandoned the Doctor Strange sequel. It’s sad we never got to see Scott Derrickson envision another Marvel movie, what we got with his latest horror feature might have better decision. The Black Phone is the best movie of Scott Derrickson’s career. It’s creepy, menacing, tension inducing and can provide some strong emotional weight by showcasing the great talent from the young actors. Ethan Hawke gives a chilling and captivating serial killer performance. As far as his work with Derrickson, this is by far his best work as an actor. But the real stars of this movie are Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw.
Based on a short story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone tells the story of Finney Shaw, a shy but very intelligent teenager, who lives in a neighborhood where other teenagers are being kidnapped by a sadistic serial killer known as The Grabber. Finney ends up being captured by The Grabber and is then locked away in a soundproof basement. When a mysterious phone starts to ring, Finney is then able to communicate with the lost kids that have been killed by The Grabber and plans to get out of there before he ends up getting killed just like the other kids.
One of the best things about The Black Phone is the character work that Derrickson is working with, which stems down to the performances from the two young child actors in Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw. These two steal your heart as brother and sister, but most importantly, their performances are stellar. The best kinds of horror movies are the ones where it’s character based, coupled with moments of terror. The Black Phone is full of great tension and effective atmosphere, but the commentary about how powerful a brother and sister relationship is really special and this movie excels on that.
With Scott Derrickson teaming up with Ethan Hawke again, both deliver on their best work yet. The performance from Ethan Hawke is one of the bets he’s ever given. In movies you’ll have villains that can show sympathy and a deep understanding. There’s also the type of villains where they just pure evil and sinister like. Ethan Hawke’s The Grabber is a pure evil in a devilish way that makes the character one of the most exciting and intense serial killers in fictional storytelling. On top of Ethan Hawke’s chilling performance, this movie is also remarkably frightening. Some will say that this isn’t as deep or as scary as Sinister, but the entertainment value and the level of raw tension in this movie proves that Scott Derrickson is one of the best horror directors in the business.
The Black Phone, being a Blumhouse production, was made for almost pocket change, as are a lot of other horror movies produce by them. With Scott Derrickson going back to the genre that he’s more comfortable with, he ultimately created the horror movie of the summer and perhaps for the entire year.
Final grade for The Black Phone: A-
Zane's take at the Cinema's 