Why Scott Derrickson Almost Ditched Black Phone 2—Until Joe Hill Dropped a Plot Twist That’ll Haunt Your Dreams!
Added on October 16, 2025 inEntertainment News Cards, Movie News Cards
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Ever wondered what happens when the cosmos align just right and a chilling sequel gets the green light—not because of cash, but because the original author rings up with a pitch straight from the abyss? Well, that’s exactly how Black Phone 2 came screaming back onto the scene. The first flick wasn’t just a hit; it was a full-blown phenomenon, raking in over $161 million and turning heads everywhere. Yet, director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill held their cards close, waiting for the perfect “hellish call” from Joe Hill to spark the next chapter. Talk about waiting for Mercury to stop meddling before sealing the deal—because what’s scarier than a ghostly phone call in the dead of winter, anyway?
Set four years after Finney’s harrowing escape, the sequel plunges us into a frostbitten nightmare where the Grabber isn’t done haunting just yet. Picture this: a winter camp, Alpine Lake, and enough icy suspense to freeze Scorpio’s fiery rage in its tracks. If you’re scratching your head wondering why this cold environment feels eerily fresh in horror lore—well, director Derrickson drew from his own frosty teenage escapades, turning down the heat on typical summer scares and dialing up the chill factor instead. And let me tell you, the dark, brutal winds of the Rockies might just be the perfect cosmic backdrop for a showdown with a killer who’s back from the dead and twice as merciless.
So, with the planets spinning and tempers flashing, will Finney and his sister Gwen finally hang up on their nightmare, or is that sinister black phone destined to keep ringing? The film drops October 17, just in time for those long, spooky autumn nights—and you’ll want to be ready.
When The Black Phone hit theatres in 2021, it was a certified smash, with great reviews, over $161 million at the box office, and a ton of buzz. Usually, that kind of success means a sequel is a done deal, but director Scott Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill weren’t about to cash in unless they had the right idea. Turns out, it took a pitch from the story’s original author, Joe Hill, to convince them to pick up the phone again for Black Phone 2.
“He just said, ‘A phone rings, Finney answers, and it’s The Grabber calling from hell,’” Cargill told Bloody Disgusting. And just like that, they were off.
Set four years after the events of the first movie, the sequel deals with Finney (Mason Thames) struggling to deal with the trauma from his kidnapping and his killing of the Grabber (Ethan Hawke). However, the notorious serial killer isn’t about to let death stop him, and he reaches out from beyond the grave to take revenge.
“The first starting point for me was, where are we going to set this?” Derrickson said. “I was proud of how the first movie really recreated my experience in North Denver in this working-class neighborhood in 1978. Then, the idea of making it a camp movie, putting it in camp, but not summer camp, winter camp, which I went to as a teenager. And the cold violence of that kind of environment, the Rocky Mountains in winter at night, where it gets down to 60, 70-below, the wind chill factor, and the memories I have of that camp experience, that became very interesting to me because I felt like I hadn’t seen that. We’ve seen lots of summer camp horror. 1982 set winter camp? Interesting.“
Millions of Friday the 13th fans, who have longed for that very setting, are pulling their hair out.
The official synopsis for The Black Phone 2: “The Grabber (Hawke) seeks vengeance on Finn (Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (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 film will hit theaters on October 17, so be sure to check out a review from our own Ryan Cultrera right here.
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