From today, a horror thriller that captivates with its dense atmosphere awaits you on Amazon Prime. Its director was able to successfully achieve what he was denied at Marvel. Attention Stephen King fans:
In some films, all the ingredients simply come together in a deliciously cinematic way: There’s an original, atmospherically dense template. The cast is impressive and, ideally, has already worked with the highly motivated person in the director’s chair. And this often results in a real insider tip for genre fans.
All these ingredients were also present in The Black Phone by Scott Derrickson with a wonderfully evil Ethan Hawke. It can now be streamed on Amazon Prime. In this supernatural horror thriller, the Doctor Strange director was able to live out what he had previously been denied at Marvel
The Black Phone adapts a short story by Stephen King’s son for the big screen
Disappeared Children. A perfidious killer with a penchant for the magically dramatic and creepy masks. A cramped cellar and a telephone that shouldn’t even work – but someone is talking through the receiver.
Does it all sound a lot like Stephen King? No wonder, because The Black Phone is based on the short story of the same name by Joe Hill, who is none other than Stephen King’s son. His story, which is very reminiscent of King himself, is transferred to the screen in an oppressive way, not least thanks to the passionate child mimes.
The year is 1978 and five children have recently disappeared without a trace in Finney’s (Mason Thames) hometown. When he himself is abducted by the sinister perpetrator, who the press has viciously dubbed the “Snatcher”, everything seems hopeless at first. But the snatcher plays with his prey and locks Finney in a cellar. Inside is an old, broken and disconnected black telephone. A phone that rings after not too long anyway
(Mason Thames in The Black Phone)
Meanwhile, not only the police are looking for the boy, but also his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). She increasingly recognizes visions of her brother and his kidnapper in her strange dreams and sets off on her own search
