October, also known by the internet as ‘Spooky Season,’ is now upon us. From haunted houses to pumpkin patches to the apple orchard, and horror movies galore, there is something for everyone.
Horror movies are a year-round occurrence for some, but for others, October is likely their favorite month for horror. October has no shortage of original, new, and sequel horror films. This October’s lineup includes the sequel to Scott Derrickson’s adaptation of The Black Phone.
What is The Black Phone?
The Black Phone is adapts from the short story of the same name by Joe Hill. The story comes from Hill’s 2007 collection, 20th Century Ghosts, and was a feature in The 3rd Alternative magazine in 2004. Hill is a prolific horror writer and also the son of the “King of Horror’ himself, Stephen King. Hill’s other works include Locke & Key, and NOS4A2.
Plot of the book and film
The story follows a thirteen-year-old boy who is kidnapped by “The Grabber.” Once kidnapped and put into The Grabber’s Basement, Finney finds a disconnected black phone on the wall. Finney later receives calls from past victims of The Grabber with ways to help him potentially escape. Those are the basic plot points in both versions but the movie does go more in depth. That is a given since the short story runs to 30 pages if read online.
Who are the characters?
The movie does a great job of fleshing out the characters within the story so here is a run down of the characters from the first film. There will also be a list going in depth onto the victims of The Grabber.
The Grabber (Ethan Hawke)
A part-time magician and a full-time kidnapper, child murderer (and potentially worse). The Grabber comes with a white devil mask with interchangeable mouth pieces and a creepy black van. Starting in 1977, he terrorizes Denver by kidnapping and killing local boys. While he has five murder victims, he ends up being killed by his almost sixth victim, Finney Blake. The Grabber also has a brother named Max, whom he proclaims to be “an idiot”.
Finney Blake (Mason Thames)
Finney is the bullied thirteen-year-old protagonist of the film. Finney is taken by The Grabber and is meant to be victim number six of the kidnapping killer. With the help of the previous five victims, Finney outsmarts The Grabber, killing him with the titular black phone and escaping. Finney also plays baseball.
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Blake (Madeleine McGraw)
Gwen is the eleven-year-old younger sister of Finney Blake. Gwen is shown to have psychic abilities, using them to find where The Grabber is keeping Finney.
Terrence Blake (Jeremy Davies)
The alcoholic and abusive father to Finney and Gwen. Terrence is a widower as his unnamed wife commited suicide before the events of the film. His wife was also known have the same visions and dreams that Gwen has.
Max (James Ransone)
Max is a coked out man who wants to help with the missing children investigation. Little does he know, he is closer than he thinks, as his brother is The Grabber.
Who are The Grabber’s victims?
As stated above, The Grabber had a total of five victims. These five characters are the reason that Finney Blake finds a way to kill and escape The Grabber. In doing this, Finney does end up bringing these boys justice. Here are the ghost boys:
Griffin Stagg (Banks Repeta)
The first victim of The Grabber, yet the least is known about Griffin as a character. The most Griffin did to help Finney was have written the passcode to his bike lock on wall. Later, the bike lock is later used by The Grabber. Griffin is the first to fall victim to the trap of a game called “naughty boy.” The game is simple, the door is left cracked at the top of the stairs and The Grabber beats the ‘player’
Billy Showalter (Jacob Moran)
Billy is the second victim of The Grabber. A paperboy, he is kidnapped on his route and put into the soundproof basement. During captivity, Billy found a rope to try and reach the basement window that Finney would find hidden in the wall.
Vance ‘Pinball Vance’ Hopper (Brady Hepner)
Vance is the third and at the time toughest victim of The Grabber. Although he was the toughest kid in school, that title is taken over by Robin during Vance’s abduction. Vance was known for two things: playing pinball and being a mean punk. He smashed a hole in thebasement wall before his death.
The better known ghost boys
Bruce Yamada (Tristan Pravong)
The fourth victim of The Grabber. We meet Bruce in the beginning of the movie as he plays baseball against Finney. The one thing he tells Finney is that “His arm was mint” and “You almost had me”. Bruce was later abducted after the game and attempted to dig a tunnel under the wall
Robin Arellano (Miguel Mora)
The Grabber’s fifth and final victim but also Finney’s friend and protector. Robin was the toughest kid in school after Vance Hopper’s kidnapping. Prone to fighting, he often protected Finney in exchange for tutoring. He is the final phone call to Finney and teaches him how to fight.
What will the sequel be about?
I know what you’re thinking. The Grabber died at the end of the first film, how is Ethan Hawke back for the sequel? Well, I don’t have an answer for that but I can give a synopsis of the sequel.
It has been four years since Finney Blake was abducted and escaped The Grabber. Now in 1982, Gwen is having visions again but this time of boys being stalked by The Grabber at a winter camp. Together, Gwen and Finney go to the camp to try and end the reign of The Grabber once and for all. But will they succeed, or is there a more sinister situation at play? Find out at the theaters
The Black Phone 2 is releasing on October 17, 2025.
