In one scene of Black Phone 2, the Grabber, the villain portrayed so memorably by Ethan Hawke, meets again with the boy he targeted in the first film. The masked, demonic figure mocks him by asking, “Did you think our story was over, Finny?”
It is a fair question, because the Grabber was killed at the end of the previous film by Finn (Mason Thames). However, this is the movie industry, and the death of the main villain does not stop a sequel from being made if the first film earned enough money. With a worldwide gross of 160 million dollars, the original was definitely profitable.
A More Ambitious Film In Terms Of Style And Theme!
Fortunately, this sequel, which arrives four years later, is not just an attempt to make money but a more stylistically and thematically ambitious film that mostly achieves what it aims for.
When Finn appears again, it is clear that he is still dealing with the trauma from his past experience. He attacks a classmate and often spends his time in a marijuana haze, which seems understandable after what he went through.
A Direct Reference To The First Film!
It also makes sense that he answers ringing payphones by saying he cannot help, which is a direct reference to the first film. Moving on from the past becomes even harder when Finn’s younger sister Gwen starts having terrifying dreams in which she channels both their late mother, who died by suicide, and three young boys who were early victims of the Grabber and were never found.
These visions guide Gwen and Finn to Alpine Lake, a Christian camp in the Rocky Mountains, where they end up stranded during a severe blizzard. It becomes clear that death has not stopped the Grabber, who appears determined to take revenge on Finn even from Hell. Similar to Freddy Krueger, he can cause both psychic and physical harm to people through their dreams, which makes Gwen especially at risk.