Origin/Director: USA/Scott Derrickson
Viewings Tally: 2 times. I first saw this when theatres started opening post COVID.
Synopsis: Finney Blake, 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. [Letterboxd]
Reely Bernie’s Take: Dazed and Confused (1993), I walked into The Cell (2000) and heard a Stir of Echoes (1999) that gave me a Sixth Sense (1999) that something was behind me…
IT WAS THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE (2001)!
shhh…
(or, was it the silence of the lambs?)
Either way, it was Creep (2014)—y.
Lots of borrowed material here in a late-70s Denver suburbs setting that couldn’t look any less like Denver or Colorado. Still, Ethan Hawke is a superb creep, the premise is crackerjack fun, and there are some tense moments that involve frozen meats.
Final Score: 3 shots of “Denver” that don’t look at all like Denver out of 5
Have you seen this one?
What did you think?
Best,
RB
Reely Bernie 
I’m not the biggest fan of The Black Phone, but I admit it’s a decent horror movie. I’m just not crazy about movies where kids are put in adult situations.
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Yeah, that is the ethical dilemma for sure: Close to real life situations and post trauma. I think of Carol Anne Freeling and the haunting challenges she faced in the Poltergeist series. You make a good point, and the older I get and more Disney and Bluey I watch with my daughters, the more aware I become of our vulnerable youth.
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best ever review. 10/10
reminds me of a movie I once saw… I think it was called…
Dante’s InferNorth by NorthweStand by Me, Myself and IreNever been KisseDonnie Brasco
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Haha! Love you, Tim. That was kooky, I thought it might have been AI, but, no, that’s you!
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as Will Smith once said …
I, (am not a) Robot
…much love
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I’m getting this now….and I got Possession as well. Thanks Bernie…this sounds like something I would like! Also…Stir of Echoes I loved…I went to see that at the theater in real time…I saw that one and The Sixth Sense at a double feature….well we snuck into Stir of Echoes after the Sixth Sense…shhhhh… it was our own double feature.
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Love this story, Max! I saw it at its premiere as well! The Rolling Stones play a big part in Stir of Echoes! A guilty pleasure movie for me too!
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It’s a underated movie…when he is on the couch and turns around to see her…I jumped out of my seat lol.
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Me too!
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Bernie I watched Possession….man what an unhinged movie and I never knew Sam Neil was ever that young lol. Both him and the actress was over the top but I mean that in a great way. I could see her being scarred by that movie in real life lol…I’m still figuring out the ending…I’m going to watch it again.
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Max, first of all, I’m proud of you for giving this a shot. This evil dweller sticks with me from time to time, and, actually—you nailed it: both actors were scarred by the trauma and torture. My write up for it comes out tomorrow. My main source of admiration comes from the director’s ability to interpret selfish toxicity in a relationship both as a metaphor and tangible evil in the form of what you might see in Hellraiser. Truly one of a kind, in my opinion.
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Oh yea…I really enjoyed it man…it was more of a horror-art movie…I would think. I told Bailey the movie name and he freaked out….he said YES I’ve been wanting to see that one for a long long time…he is watching it tomorrow.
Oh I just finished The Black Phone…that was as close to a Stephen King book without being a book as you could get…I really loved it! Of course I loved the time period as well…they got it pretty well.
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Nice horror flick operations going on over there! Bravo! Very different approaches by both and yet very compelling. Ethan Hawke is creepily spot on as a sadistic serial kidnapper. I know Denver so well, however, so I could tell every shot was NOT Denver or anything Colorado!
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Hawke was great in this one…whoever played that kid was really good also. I loved the concept…yea I love period horrors…again that is why I liked Haunter.
Thats odd…I wonder why they just didn’t set it in California or where ever they shot it?
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It guess it was all shot in North Carolina. It was still a spooky atmosphere; just a swing and a miss on reality. That kid was a great actor! Some very tense moments too. And, that mask!!!
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Oh yea…I loved it…one of the things that made it even better was a happy ending for once… I must admit I loved that mask!
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