Tag Archives: Scott Derrickson

BLACK PHONE 2 – Review

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Hey, Halloween’s just a couple of weeks away, Hollywood studios! So where’s the new spooky, scary flicks? Well, we’ll have to wait another week or so for the new version of Mary Shelley’s classic, so how about a sequel to one of the surprise horror hits from four years ago? And it’s from the classic “monster-maker”, Universal by way of the “ghouls” that dwell in the Blumhouse. Concerned about the number in its title? Perhaps knowing that they got “the band back together”, namely the cast along with the directors and co-writer, should erase your worries. What’s that ringing noise? Do you dare to pick up the receiver and answer the call of BLACK PHONE 2?


It all actually starts with a flashback set in the late 1950s. A teenager trudges through the snow to a desolate telephone booth, somewhere in a frigid forest clearing. After a very odd, even cryptic conversation, the story springs forward to 1982 Colorado. Just outside the high school, a young man is viciously pummeled by Finn Blake (Mason Thames). Luckily, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) pulls him off the lad. Despite being the young hero who ended the murderous reign of “the Grabber”, Finn is still challenged by bullies. But that’s not their only problem. Though papa Terence (Jeremy Davies) is finally sober, Finn is now the substance abuser, numbing his damaged psyche with bags of weed. Yet somehow he’s alert enough to stop Gwen from her dangerous sleepwalking excursions. Yes, she’s having visions again, this time of three boys murdered in the cold white woods. Could this be the spirit of their nemesis? Gwen’s dreams lead the duo to look into getting jobs at the Christian church “winter camp” called Alpine Lake. Luckily Gwen’s “wannabe BF” Ernesto (Miguel Mora) agrees to drive them there during a blizzard. At the camp’s front gate, they’re met by the horse “wrangler” Mustang (Arianna Rivas) and her father, the supervisor Armando (Demian Bichir). He tells them that other new workers called ahead and cancelled due to the fierce storm. But the trio can stay in the cabins until the roads are cleared. Gwen’s nightmares start up as things get even more weird for Finn. He answers the “out-of-order” payphone and speaks to the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) before seeing the horned, masked demon himself. Soon, Gwen’s visions give her a portal into the fiend’s deadly origins at the camp. Can the Blakes guide the campers in their mission to stop the Grabber and send him back to Hell?

Though he’s prominently featured in the marketing, the participation of Mr.Hawke raised some questions. Since the Grabber is usually masked up, or seen in various stages of gnarly wounded decay, Hawke is really delivering more of a vocal performance. It doesn’t help that the glimpses of him as the magician/balloon twister at the wheel of that old black van are that of a different actor (but then they’re part of Gwen’s visions). Mind you, Hawke delivers a threatening growl, but I recalled the rumors about the 1940s Mummy movies “starring” Lon Chaney, Jr. As for the other “originals”, the very busy Thames (this is the middle of his three 2025 flicks) makes a steadfast horror “hero” as the young man who is paying the mental “price” for his victory over evil. The memories (and grass) have dulled his eyes, but a return match seems to “jump start” his fighting spirit. That, and in protecting his adored lil’ sis’ played with equal parts sass and snark, with a touch of trembling vulnerability, by McGraw. She somehow can make most of her clunkier put-downs (this from a 15 year-old) work. Davies is also strong as a man struggling to rectify his past behavior and reconnect with the kids that will soon drift away from the nest. Mora also provides a good connection to the first flick, while scoring some chuckles as he pines for Gwen. The most compelling new character may be the grizzled Armando, played with a gravitas and protective charm by the always watchable Bichir ((love when he scolds Finn over his “goodie bag”).

Returning to the director’s chair is Scott Derrickson who co-wrote the new script with C. Robert Cargill, based on Joe Hill’s 2004 short story. I will give them kudos for not returning to that dingy basement (it does make a cameo) for a new rash of abductions and escape attempts. Though the first entries had supernatural elements, this one truly goes “all in” allowing for lots of creative effects, some CGI and many practical make-ups (even a bit of puppetry, I’m guessing). But once the Blakes get to their new setting, the story becomes fairly repetitive as Gwen drifts off to sleep in order to be menaced by the Grabber before Finn arrives just in time. And many set pieces are also derivative, as though we’re watching a late 80s Freddy Krueger knock-off set near the Overlook from THE SHINING (the red-coiled space heaters do give the cabin interiors a Hellish glow). The need for new scares and gross-out clutter up the big finale showdown as the “camper’s quest’ finally limps to a frozen finish. The fans have the original will probably enjoy seeing the “OG” cast, but for few new fans will want to jump in that icy glass booth for BLACK PHONE 2.

1.5 Out of 4

BLACK PHONE 2 is now playing in theaters everywhere

Win Passes To The St. Louis Advance Screening Of BLACK PHONE 2

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THIS FALL, DISCOVER THE SECRET BEHIND THE MASK.  UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND BLUMHOUSE PRESENT… ETHAN HAWKE IN BLACK PHONE 2. 

ONLY IN THEATERS OCTOBER 17TH.

https://www.blackphonemovie.com/home

The St. Louis screening is 7pm on Tuesday, October 14th at Galleria 6 Cinema. 6pm Suggested Arrival.

Passes are available while supplies last.

ENTER HERE FOR PASSES: http://gofobo.com/FfShc11471

Rated R.

Black Phone 2

Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again.

Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

From returning visionary writer-director Scott Derrickson, Black Phone 2 is written again by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on characters created by Joe Hill. The film is produced by Jason Blum, Derrickson and Cargill. The executive producers are Adam Hendricks and Ryan Turek.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece, Miguel Mora (The Black Phone) as the brother of one of The Grabber’s victims, and Jeremy Davies, returning as Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence. Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven).

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s horror phenomenon The Black Phone, released in 2022, received widespread critical acclaim and earned more than $160 million.

(from left) Mustang (Arianna Rivas), Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) and Finn (Mason Thames) in Black Phone 2, directed by Scott Derrickson.

The Grabber In 3D Towers Over Sunset And La Cienga For BLACK PHONE 2

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Opening in theaters on October 17 is the highly anticpated BLACK PHONE 2.

When THE BLACK PHONE arrived in 2022, it struck like lightning: a horror film both intimate and terrifying, rooted in the raw vulnerability of childhood. Adapted from Joe Hill’s short story, the film drew on writer-producer-director Scott Derrickson’s memories of growing up in Colorado, grounding its supernatural terror in unsettling realism. Audiences embraced it not only for its scares but for its honesty. The film earned more than $160 million worldwide, introduced the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) as a chilling new figure in the genre’s canon and established The Black Phone as one of the decade’s most distinctive original horror films.

The influences are rooted in Derrickson’s own history yet also nod to the genre’s lineage. “I am less interested in drawing from other people’s work than in expanding on what elements from my own work seem unique to me,” Derrickson says. “In this case, it was the use of Super 8 footage in very specific ways, drawing on my own memories at Colorado high school winter camps in the early ‘80s and channeling some of the bigger feelings I had when I was a teenager at that time. But I do think all the horror films I saw in the ‘80s still had a kind of invasive, inevitable influence. All the horror camp films – Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street being the biggest most obvious ones – and of course, some key imagery from the much more obscure 1983 film Curtains. If you know that film, the homage is clear and unabashed.”

WAMG caught a glimpse of the menacing Grabber in Hollywood this week, plus check out the new featurette ‘Mason Thames on Black Phone 2’.

Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again.

Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

Get tickets now.

From returning visionary writer-director Scott Derrickson, Black Phone 2 is written again by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on characters created by Joe Hill. The film is produced by Jason Blum, Derrickson and Cargill. The executive producers are Ryan Turek, Adam Hendricks, Daniel Bekerman and Jason Blumenfeld.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece, Miguel Mora (The Black Phone) as the brother of one of The Grabber’s victims, and Jeremy Davies, returning as Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence. Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven).

The film’s director of photography is PÄR M. EKBERG FSF (Slingshot, Lords of Chaos). The production designer is Emmy Award nominee PATTI PODESTA (The Black Phone, Memento) and the editor is LOUISE FORD ACE (Nosferatu, The Northman). The film’s costume designer is Emmy Award winner AMY ANDREWS HARRELL (The Black Phone, The Good Lord Bird), the hair department head is NATHAN RIVAL (Trap, Ready or Not) and the makeup department head is Emmy Award winner COLIN PENMAN (The Apprentice, Star Trek: Discovery). The music is by ATTICUS DERRICKSON (V/H/S/85, Shadowprowler). The casting is by TERRI TAYLOR CSA (Five Nights at Freddy’s, Drop), SARAH DOMEIER LINDO CSA (Five Nights at Freddy’s, Drop) and ALLY CONOVER CSA (Drop, Speak No Evil).

Black Phone 2

Ethan Hawke Is Even More Terrifying As The Grabber In Brand New Trailer For Scott Derrickson’s BLACK PHONE 2

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In 2022 Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s horror phenomenon THE BLACK PHONE, from writer-director Scott Derrickson, received widespread critical acclaim and earned more than $160 million worldwide. In his review, WAMG’s Jim Batts says: “Derrickson is a skilled “spookster”, relying on quick cuts and those wanting their “fright fix” will be more than sated.”

Here’s your first look at the brand new trailer for BLACK PHONE 2. The highly anticipated follow-up opens in theaters October 17.

Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again. 

This looks so much like a slasher film from the 80’s and another instant classic entry into the genre. Derrickson’s recent movie, THE GORGE, streamed on Apple TV+. In here review, WAMG’s Cate Marquis writes: “THE GORGE is an entertaining, fast-paced sci-action flick with an appealing couple at the center and plenty of action, plus enough of an original idea that it could have had a big screen release.”

Check out some of his other films here: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2025/02/movies-to-see-before-you-watch-scott-derricksons-the-gorge-on-apple-tv-february-14/

Director Scott Derrickson on the set of The Black Phone.

Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). 

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. 

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in Black Phone 2, directed by Scott Derrickson.

From returning visionary writer-director Scott Derrickson, BLACK PHONE 2 is written again by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on characters created by Joe Hill. The film is produced by Jason Blum, Derrickson and Cargill. The executive producers are Joe Hill, Adam Hendricks and Ryan Turek.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece, Miguel Mora (The Black Phone) as the brother of one of The Grabber’s victims, and Jeremy Davies, returning as Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence. Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven). 

https://www.blackphonemovie.com

Ethan Hawke as The Grabber in Black Phone 2, directed by Scott Derrickson.
© 2025 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Scott Derrickson’s BLACK PHONE 2 First Trailer Revealed At CCXP Mexico

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Blumhouse is throwing a horror quinceanera for the ages today at CCXP Mexico, one of the world’s largest pop culture festivals celebrating movies, TV series, games, comics and more. Founder and CEO Jason Blum takes the stage in Mexico City to mark the company’s 15th anniversary and unveil a slate of updates, exclusive footage and surprise reveals.

First in their reveals is the trailer for BLACK PHONE 2.

Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again.

Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

From returning visionary writer-director Scott Derrickson, Black Phone 2 is written again by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on characters created by Joe Hill. The film is produced by Jason Blum, Derrickson and Cargill. The executive producers are Joe Hill, Adam Hendricks and Ryan Turek.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece, Miguel Mora (The Black Phone) as the brother of one of The Grabber’s victims, and Jeremy Davies, returning as Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence. Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven). 

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s horror phenomenon The Black Phone, released in 2022, received widespread critical acclaim and earned more than $160 million worldwide.

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse will present the Crooked Highway Production, which is set to open in theaters October 17, 2025.

(from left) Finn (Mason Thames) and The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in Black Phone 2, written and directed by Scott Derrickson.

THE GORGE – Review

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Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller in THE GORGE. Courtesy of Apple TV+

Two elite sharpshooters-turned-assassins are hired separately for a secret mission to guard either side of a gorge that contains a mysterious threat in remote, secret location. On one side of the gorge is ex-Marine Levi (Miles Teller), hired by the U.S. Army, and on the other is Lithuanian assassin Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), hired by the Russians, in a secret agreement between the West and the East that has persisted since the early years of the Cold War. This unlikely agreement was made to contain a threat so deadly that both sides want it confined to this remote gorge, and this decades-long arrangement is so secret, even the U.S. Presidents were unaware of it. Each year, countries in the West and nations in the East send a new guard to man the tower on their side of the gorge. Those solitary guards patrol the heavily-weaponized edge of the gorge on their side, to make sure whatever is down there, stays down there. The guard on each side will be alone in their towers for a year, with only brief monthly radio contact with their employers. They are forbidden to have contact with each other.

In director Scott Derrickson’s dark sci-fi action thriller, we meet Drasa first, initially as she successfully kills a political target thought untouchable and then back in Lithuania, to visit her ex-KGB father Erikas (William Houston). Drasa and her father are very close, but her father now is dying of cancer. Facing the prospect of a long, painful illness, he tells her he will end his life on a certain date, Valentine’s Day, if he’s still alive. His death will sever Drasa’s one emotional support in the world, so she is understandably distraught.

We first meet Levi when he is summoned to report to Fort Bragg, where he meets with Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver), who offers him this lonely year-long assignment, after determining he has no close ties that will notice he is missing.

Levi is put on a plane and drugged, so he has no idea where he is or how long he was in the air. A helicopter drops him at a remote, snowy mountain location near a border, with a map to travel the few kilometers to cross it. He has no idea where he is and little about the mission. Over the border, he meets up with the man he is replacing, J.D. (Sope Dirisu), a chatty British fellow who is very happy to have some human contact again. Levi has a manual that briefs him on the job, and gets a quick tour from J.D. before he goes off to his pick-up point.

That Levi and his counterpart across the gorge aren’t supposed to communicate made sense in the Cold War, but it makes less sense now. Anyway, it doesn’t last, with a rule-breaker Drasa using a big drawing pad to write messages to Levi. When he writes back to remind her of the rule, she replies that it’s her birthday and she’s going to do what she wants. The location of the gorge is cloaked so how are they going to know.

Thus starts their cross-gorge chats and budding relationship that follows. But it doesn’t take long before the mysterious threat contained so long in the gorge raises its ugly, gnarly head, and tries to climb out of the gorge. Lots of ugly, gnarly heads, actually.

The gorge turns out the be filled with strange looking zombie-like creatures, dubbed Hollow Men, who look like they merged with dead trees, a nice visual effect. The Hollow Men tag for them is a reference to a T.S. Elliot poem, and there are similar classical poetry references sprinkled throughout, which is a refreshing, unexpected touch in what is basically a sci-fi action adventure, with a romance thrown in.

Scott Derrickson does a nice job with the direction, keeping everything moving a good clip and keeping us focused on the characters instead of the script’s flaws. The direction and acting do a lot to compensate for the script’s logic flaws, although the film’s basic premise is intriguing.

Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy are very good together, with a natural chemistry as their characters bouncing quips off each other in a playful who-is-the-better shot one-upmanship competition. There is plenty of romantic chemistry too, so that when the confrontation with the things in the gorge heats up, as you know it will, they are ready to work as a team.

Another strength is the music, provided by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and nice moody, dark, atmospheric cinematography by Dan Laustsen. The sets and exterior shots, in Norway, all look great and the mystery in the gorge is original enough to be intriguing and full of possibilities.

Unfortunately, the script is kind of under-cooked, and something about the film feels like it was originally intended as a series but was hastily re-fashioned into a movie instead. It has more than a few puzzling missteps, like why would they need top assassins to patrol this heavily-weaponized gorge edge? What Levi and Drasa discover about the gorge is an intriguing yet the film doesn’t fully exploit its potential. There are other puzzlers. Levi and Drasa are well-matched as sharpshooters and skilled assassins yet it is always Drasa who loses things or leaves them behind, to create plot problems, or who stumbles into things and needs to be rescued, a sign of lazy writing. The action sequences are exciting and the effects are good but what gets them into those situations isn’t always the most original plot device.

However, the on-screen magic between Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, plus Scott Derrickson’s perfectly-paced direction, keeping things focused on action and the central characters more than on those flaws, in a nice bit of cinematic sleigh of hand.

Overall, THE GORGE is an entertaining, fast-paced sci-action flick with an appealing couple at the center and plenty of action, plus enough of an original idea that it could have had a big screen release. As it is, you will have to go to your small screen to enjoy Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy trading quips and battling these woody zombies. For popcorn fun, you could do much worse.

THE GORGE debuts on Apple TV+ on Friday, Feb. 14.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

The Best Scott Derrickson Movies To See Before You Watch THE GORGE – Streaming On Apple TV+ February 14

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Debuting on Apple TV+ on February 14 is director Scott Derrickson’s THE GORGE, starring Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Sigourney Weaver.

Two highly-trained operatives (Teller and Taylor-Joy) are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it’s too late.

In a recent interview Derrickson said THE GORGE is much like Until Dawn and Silent Hill, “I love those games, and I do think that gaming has sort of set the bar for gunplay action, especially if you’re really with a single character or two characters, you kind of can’t beat it.” (Games Radar)

Director Scott Derrickson on the set of The Black Phone.

Check out what Apple TV+ did to promote the movie over Sunset Boulevard.

https://www.threads.net/@maggielevin/post/DFeSTz5Jaig?xmt=AQGzJ3lrornQ-ZNUL4e6mWiwYkgnuy_lA3n-uN_-JG5_Ww

Derrickson is one of my favorite directors and I’m looking forward to his latest film as well as the upcoming BLACK PHONE 2. A poster with “directed by Scott Derrickson” guarantees I’ll go to see his film even without a synopsis. Aliens arriving on earth, ghosts calling on a phone with a warning or evil spirits of a sinister nature terrorizing families, below are some of the cinematic journeys that he’s taken us on.

HELLRAISER: INFERNO (2000): A corrupt detective encounters a mysterious box that unleashes horrific supernatural forces. Supernatural villain Pinhead finds himself on the wrong side of the law in the fifth film of the Hellraiser franchise. Joseph is a detective with the LAPD who one morning discovers he’s no longer living in California — he’s been exiled to Hades, and the only way to escape is by solving the mystery of the all-powerful puzzle box. The box is now in the hands of the fearsome demon Pinhead and Joseph finds himself in a life-and-death struggle with the demon for control of the puzzle box. 

Derrickson’s debut feature was Hellraiser: Inferno. It was released straight to video in 2000 and is one of the most interesting chapters in the franchise, becoming a fan favorite.

THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (2005): A priest is accused of negligent homicide after a teenage girl dies during an exorcism.  Derrickson co-wrote and directed The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which was loosely based on a true story about Anneliese Michel. The film won the 2005 Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film and in 2006 was named in the Chicago Film Critics Association’s list of the “Top 100 Scariest Films Ever Made.” Theatrical box office gross for The Exorcism of Emily Rose was over $144 million worldwide. The film is one of the best in the genre and a great mix of courtroom drama and a horror story. The flashbacks and the the remarkable performance of Jennifer Carpenter makes this smart film a must-see of the filmmaker.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008): An alien visitor arrives on Earth with a powerful robotic companion, GORT, to deliver a crucial message to humanity. A remake of the film “The Day the Earth Stood Still” directed by Robert Wise, it’s a terrific retelling of the 1951 classic and Keanu Reeves captures the essence of Klaatu, brilliantly played by Michael Rennie in the original. While both films have the best flying saucer/spaceship arrivals in cinematic history, this time GORT is even more terrifying and the genius casting of John Cleese as Professor Barnhardt has a meaningful dialogue with Klaatu and the famous “Klaatu barada nikto” was once again heard to the delight of fans. Written by David Scarpa, the film was released in late 2008 and earned over $233 million worldwide.

Two of the best scenes in the movie rival the original film and its this dialogue that gives Derrickson’s version a more human touchstone.

  • Mr. Wu: I’m staying.
  • Klaatu: You can’t stay here.
  • Mr. Wu: I can and I will.
  • Klaatu: If you stay, you’ll die.
  • Mr. Wu: I know. This is my home now.
  • Klaatu: You yourself called them a destructive race.
  • Mr. Wu: That’s true. But still, there is another side. You see, I… I love them. It is a very strange thing. I… I… I can’t find a way to explain it to you. For many years I cursed my luck for being sent here. Human life is difficult. But as this life is coming to an end… I consider myself lucky… to have lived it.

The scene below is also a nice take on the 1951 dialogue:

  • Barnhardt: Have you tested this theory?
  • Klaatu: I find it works well enough to get me from one planet to another.

SINISTER (2012): A true-crime novelist discovers a disturbing collection of home movies that may be connected to a series of murders, all resulting in a younger member of the family just disappearing.  One of the scariest horror movies ever made, the film makes you fearful for days, the jump scares are so effective and the audience believes that Ethan Hawke is truly terrified. Debuting at the SXSW festival, WAMG’s Travis Keune wrote in his review, “What SINISTER does so well is to capitalize on terror in the unknown, the fear of the dark and the inherent creepiness of waiting for the inevitable to occur. It is easily one of the best horror films I’ve seen in recent years.”

In August 2011, Derrickson teamed up with producer Jason Blum to write and direct Sinister, a mystery horror film starring Ethan Hawke. The $3 million picture was released in theaters by Summit Entertainment on October 12, 2012, and received generally positive critical reviews. Sinister earned over $48 million at the U.S. box office and over $78 million worldwide. Derrickson co-wrote but did not direct the film’s sequel.

Possession, shocks and scares…DELIVER US FROM EVIL (2014) is the story of a New York police officer who teams up with an unconventional priest to investigate a series of disturbing and potentially supernatural cases. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film is based on a 2001 non-fiction book entitled Beware the Night by former police Sergeant Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool, and its marketing campaign highlighted that it was “inspired by actual accounts” making for a fun night at the movies. Audiences loved it and this creepy film, released on July 2, 2014, grossed $87.9 million against a $30 million budget proving you can’t always go by the critics reviews.

DOCTOR STRANGE (2016): A talented but arrogant neurosurgeon learns the mystic arts after a tragic accident. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, the film is, hands down, the best Marvel film and Derrickson makes you forget you are watching a superhero film. It keeps the original psychedelic feel of the material, while giving the character an updated origin.  Based on the Marvel comic character, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who first appeared in “Strange Tales” Issue #110 published in July 1963. The magical score from Michael Giacchino is from another time and just adds to the greatestness of DOCTOR STRANGE.

THE BLACK PHONE (2021): A young boy abducted by a masked killer receives mysterious calls from the dead, helping him to escape his captor. The Black Phone re-teamed Derrickson with Ethan Hawke and James Ransone, and was theatrically released to positive reviews on June 24, 2022. In 2021, Derrickson directed an adaptation of Joe Hill’s short story “The Black Phone”, from a script he co-wrote with C. Robert Cargill. Derrickson wanted emotional veracity, not just technical accuracy, in every frame. “The        trick was to capture not just what the era looked or sounded like, but what did it feel like?” Derrickson says. “I wanted The Black Phone to feel like how the late ’70s felt to me when I was 12 and 13.” For Gen Xers, children of the ’70s, this was a time without anti-bullying initiatives, where, for boys in particular, learning to defend yourself against mean kids was considered a normal rite of passage.  “My earliest memory up until high school was the violence of the neighborhood that I lived in,” Derrickson says. “The primary feeling that I remember having as a child was fear. I was the youngest kid on the street full of bullies.” One of his absolute best movies, Derrikson’s film is a hard watch, and even on repeat viewings the effective creepiness stays with you long after the credits.

DREAMKILL:

Derrickson said of his portion of Shudder’s V/H/S 85, “What was interesting to me about making Dreamkill was first, trying to play with the physical format of VHS tape, and second, to work with my sons Dashiell (who plays Gunther) and Atticus (who did the score). I’m also a big fan of the VHS franchise, and was excited to work in the short film medium without any restrictions on the necessary violence of the content.” Fun fact: this is directly connected to THE BLACK PHONE. V/H/S 85 is the absolute best of the popular film anthology series, but it’s DREAMKILL with its twists that’s the standout of the ominous mixtape blending never before seen snuff footage with nightmarish newscasts and disturbing home video to create a surreal, analog mashup of the forgotten 80s.

Watch The Trailer For Scott Derrickson’s THE GORGE Starring Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy And Sigourney Weaver

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During the Thunder Stage at CCXP24 in São Paulo, Brazil on Saturday, Apple Original Films unveiled the trailer for director Scott Derrickson’s upcoming thriller THE GORGE, starring Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Sigourney Weaver.

Two highly-trained operatives (Teller and Taylor-Joy) are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it’s too late.

THE GORGE will premiere globally on Apple TV+ February 14, 2025.

Written by Zach Dean, THE GORGE is produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger for Skydance, alongside Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Sherryl Clark through Crooked Highway as well as Adam Kolbrenner, Zach Dean and Gregory Goodman. Miles Teller executive produces.

THE BLACK PHONE – Review

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The Black Phone

Ah, the sweet nostalgic dreams of long-gone childhood. Carefree days, full of budding romance, bonds of friendship, and exploring adventures are lovingly recalled. Now, in horror flicks, well…it’s not that endearing. As a matter of fact, so many kids are menaced in terror tales, that it’s almost a “sub-genre”. The wee-ones have been menaced in everything from the classic THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE to (what they say is) the final season of the streaming sensation “Stranger Things”. Now, one of the “young Turks” of the movie “nail-biters” is ready to put those “brats” through the “ringer”. And his story source comes from an author with a familiar “fear history”. Somehow the biggest creeps come out of the earpiece of a common household device. Do you dare take a call from (creepy announcer voice followed by maniacal laughter) THE BLACK PHONE?

It’s the suburbs of Denver back in 1978, and despite the schoolyard talk of Fonzie and Ritchie, the days are far from happy. Well, the first day we see starts out well enough as fifteen-year-old Finney (Mason Thomas) almost strikes out a batter in the last moments of the big schoolyard game. Almost. But triumph turns to tragedy as a mysterious child abductor called by kids (in hushed tones or he’ll hear) “the Grabber” claims another victim. It’s all the talk between Finny and his devoted kid sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). That devotion comes from the “united front” they form trying to deal with their boozy, abusive, surly single father Terrence (Jeremy Davies). Things hit even closer to home when Finney’s protector from a trio of bullies, Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora) vanishes. And things get more complicated when the police hear of Gwen’s “crime dreams”, complete with details unknown to the public. She’ll make use of her “second sight” when Finney stops to help a bumbling magician (Ethan Hawke) and is knocked out, tossed in a van, and locked in a dingy basement. Nearby the beaten-up floor mattress is a kitchen-style black rotary phone. Of course, it’s unconnected (says the Grabber), but it will ring due to static electricity. But when his captor leaves, Finney is awakened by the repetitive ringing. Out of annoyance, he picks it up…and someone answers. Could the weird voices on the other end be Finney’s ticket to survival and freedom?

Though the twisted images of the Grabber are being used as the film’s big selling point, the power of the production really rests on the young shoulders of Mr. Thomas. Sure, most of it comes from the fact that he’s in nearly every scene, but it all collapses if he doesn’t inspire us to be invested in his struggles, to “root” for him. And we do, from the moment his “big game” takes a lousy detour to his effort to escape his dire straights. In the opening act Thomas shows us that Finney has no sanctuary at home or at school, but he keeps pushing himself forward…leading to his eventual “test’. He’s ably complemented by McGraw, a gifted actress able to shift between comedy (her “prayers’ and police interview) and tragedy as she tries to accept her “dream talent’ even as her papa cruelly tries to drive it from her. Aside from her “visions’, any big brother would be lucky to know she’s “got his back”. Both siblings are bursting with the joy of youth, which makes for a stark contrast to their sullen, inebriated “old man” played with a melancholy rage by Davies. He just wants to quietly crawl into a bottle and drown, but that parental instinct can’t be held down, though his “methods” are often repugnant. Oh, and then there’s the “big bad” himself with Hawke a most unpredictable nightmare-inducer even through the marvelous masks created by makeup master Tom Savini and “legacy artist” Jason (son of Rick) Baker. At times Hawke projects an amiable nature (his goofy charm is part of the “lure”), but the beast explodes when things don’t fall into place as planned. Helping to ease some of the agonizing tension is the comic work of James Ransone as the hyper Max who thinks he can be a great asset to the frustrated cops (“so, we’re working together?”).

Oh, the “young Turk” I alluded to earlier, why that’s Scott Derrickson, who has made a name for himself by helming everything from a HELLRAISER sequel to a Marvel superhero, DOCTOR STRANGE (the first in the franchise). Almost from the start, he’s “toying’ with us, shifting from the “American pastime” right into every family’s worst fear. And then he’ll draw us back in with a wistful recreation of “simpler times” before the “interweb’ and media-savvy kids, but then shock us with a scene of “then accepted’ near-demonic parental abuse. That’s all neatly tied together by the screenplay he co-adapted with C. Robert Cargill based on the short story by Joe Hill. Oh, I also mentioned a “fear history”. That’s because Joe’s the son of Stephen King which may account for the inspirations from IT, STAND BY ME, and even MISERY. But it’s not a series of “touchstones” strung together. Derrickson is a skilled “spookster”, relying on quick cuts and inspired bits of subtle lighting and atmosphere, rather than cheap “jamp scares’ and a blasting music track thanks to the score by Mark Korven. Those wanting their “fright fix” will be more than sated, while many casual genre fans will be “grabbed” (sorry) by the 1970s vibe (though it often feels a few years earlier than the disco days of 78) and entranced by the polished performances by the young leads. And the youngest moviegoers may be stunned to see that their tiny, super-thin devices all sprung from clunky bulky boxes nailed to the walls just like THE BLACK PHONE.

3 out of 4

THE BLACK PHONE opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, June 24, 2022

Win Passes To The St. Louis Advance Screening Of THE BLACK PHONE

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Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with a new horror thriller THE BLACK PHONE. Stars Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone and Ethan Hawke. In Theaters June 24.

Enter to win passes for you and a guest to attend the Advance Screening.

DATE AND TIME:
June 21, 2022 at 7:00pm at Wehrenberg Ronnies 20 Cine

The screening will be filled on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to arrive early. Seats will not be guaranteed. Rated R.

Enter here: http://gofobo.com/hmHLV78461

https://www.theblackphonemovie.com/

Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Starring four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career and introducing Mason Thames in his first ever film role, The Black Phone is produced,

directed, and co-written by Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange. 

The film’s screenplay is by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange, Sinister franchise), based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill from his New York Times bestseller 20th Century Ghosts. The film is produced by Derrickson & Cargill’s Crooked Highway and presented by Universal and Blumhouse. Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill are producers on the film, which is executive produced by Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner.

(from left) The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) in The Black Phone, directed by Scott Derrickson. Photo Credit: Fred Norris/Universal Pictures copyright: © 2022 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. All Rights Reserved.