Black Phone 2 (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke

Release Date: December 23, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

True evil transcends death and the black phone rings again as The Grabber torments Finn, the teen who killed him, from beyond the grave by menacing his sister Gwen. Haunted by horrific visions, the teens set out to stop their psychological torture only to uncover a disturbing secret as they confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death.

‘Black Phone 2’ rejoins Finn, the boy who managed to kill the Grabber and end his reign of terror… or at least he thought so until he and his sister Gwen arrive at a secluded, snow-covered camp that has a mysterious connection to their mother as well as the villain. Yet when the Grabber manages to call and continue taunting Finn from beyond the grave, Finn soon realizes that he’s after his sister as a way to make him suffer, and that the killer has somehow become more powerful in death. Now the siblings will once again have to fight for their lives with no escape from the weather or the Grabber.

Directed once again by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Black Phone) from a screenplay written by Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange), Based on the Short Story ‘The Black Phone’ by Joe Hill, Derrickson does a great job back at the helm for ‘Black Phone 2’ guiding along the brutal, chilly follow-up with style and care. The cast of the sequel includes Mason Thames (How to Train Your Dragon 2025), Madeline McGraw (The Curse of the Necklace), Miguel Mora (TV’s So Help Me Todd), Jeremy Davies (Dark Harvest), Demián Bichir (The Nun) and Ethan Hawke (Sinister), with nearly all offering solid and capable performances in each of their respective roles.

‘Black Phone 2’ delivers a brutal, tense and powerful sequel that takes things in an unexpected direction for a follow-up that’s a different type of beast yet at the same time is every bit as good as its predecessor. It’s a clever new take on the story that follows a smart yet natural continuation of the story that sees the heroic siblings of the first film forced to face off once more against the terrifying Grabber who has become even more powerful and dangerous in death. The sequel once again benefits from the capable guidance of director Scott Derrickson as well as the talented cast led by Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames.

Offering a believable and somewhat realistic continuation of the story (aside from the supernatural elements naturally) that sees the brother and sister still struggling with the events of the first film and set amid a fittingly chilly and deserted winter landscape this time around that allows a perfect combination to invoke terror; a wide open and expansive setting that’s also so overwhelmed by the snowy weather that it invokes a sense of desolation as the wide-open isolated location provides a sense of uncertainty and the potential for attack or terror to arise from any corner or area, a familiar yet also different type of confinement from the singular room Finn was trapped in during the first movie. It’s a tremendous sequel that wisely expands into new avenues and utilizes some new tools and environments in order to keep things fresh and unexpected, while the villain is more unsettling than ever and the violence more bleak and graphic in addition.

Overall, ‘Black Phone 2’ is a fantastic follow-up that takes the story in a slightly new direction with some drastically different environments and a different, more sinister method of attacking from the villain that keeps things from ever becoming entirely predictable or dull, embracing the snow-covered, frozen winter world as a tool that works perfectly for this continuation. ‘Black Phone 2’ is very highly recommended for anyone that enjoyed the first film who will surely appreciate this equally solid, dark and brutal sequel that dares to go in a different direction and does a tremendous job of making it work even better than expected. This one should easily prove worthy of your time and the cost of rental to give a whirl, yet fans who own the first installment will almost certainly want to add this stellar sequel to their collection as well.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Black Phone 2’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole and does a nice job of differentiating between the scenes occurring in reality and in dreams/visions; with a crisp, sharp clarity for most of it while the dreamlike sequences see a grimier, grainy and noise-heavy appearance that perfectly sharpens when returning to reality. Detail is solid across the board when intended (as the dream sequences are intentionally heavily grainy and distorted) complemented by vibrantly white snowy landscapes. Colors are clean and bold, while black levels are suitably dark and deep. Overall, this is a pretty wonderful high definition presentation that looks good throughout and should please fans and newcomers alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack offers a clean, crisp and frequently aggressive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, weather and eerie effects, plus plenty more zipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously becoming negatively impacted or distorted in the process. Overall, this is a fully capable Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that holds up nicely and contributes another layer of tension and unease to the experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Black Phone 2’ includes some entertaining extras that fans of the sequel should appreciate. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director/Co-Writer/Producer Scott Derrickson’, along with some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 8 minutes in length altogether). Also included are a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘Dialed In: The Cast of Black Phone 2’ (running approximately 10 minutes), ‘A Story Carved in Ice’ (approximately 11 minutes) and ‘Frozen in Time’ (10 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘Black Phone 2’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Blumhouse & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Black Phone 2’ on Blu-ray at Amazon HERE!

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