Featured Image: (Pacer Graphic / Darby Self)

Black Phone 2 was a horror/thriller film directed by Scott Derrickson, the same director of the critically acclaimed Sinister film series.

It was released on Oct. 17, 2025. The story is set years in the future after the events of the first film.

We zero in on Finn (Mason Thames) and Gwen’s (Madeleine McGraw) teenage lives after the incident in the first film. Finn has taken on an angry older brother role and taken to “the devil’s lettuce,” as the movie so graciously calls it, to combat his hallucinations and constant state of fear.

We see that every day he lives in paranoia and proceeds to mask it with anger. His sister’s dreams are once again plagued with visions of young boys and phone calls from their young mother from a camp that she had never heard of.

Cinematically, the film felt reminiscent of the original Sinister movies and the snuff tapes they would find in the attic. If you were a fan of Black Phone 2, you may also enjoy the Sinister films.

The dreams felt like watching old tapes with the film grain over them, which one University of Tennessee at Martin student commented on.

Mikala Bates, a senior animal science major, said, “I liked how they used the film grain over Gwen’s dreams. It was a really nice touch.”

In the dreams, they used a nice grain effect, which created a weathered tape look over the scenes. It really added to the feeling of unease that the film was trying to bring forth.

In terms of predictability, this movie was as open as a book lying on a desk. The plot twist they tried to pitch to the audience didn’t feel like a twist at all when the mother was reintroduced to the plot.

“The movie was straightforward and there was no unpredictable twist. The events were very easy to figure out,” said Jeremiah Elzey, a senior majoring in English.

It made for a bit of a boring watch toward the end, though there were some funnier elements toward the middle. The effects felt lackluster in some areas, such as when Gwen watched the kid slam his face into the window.

Bradon Rogers, a sophomore vet science major and vice president of Order of the Skyhawks, said, “It was really funny when they had the ovens fired up and she just started spinning in the air. I couldn’t stop laughing.”

We’re not sure if it was the intention of the director for the audience to laugh when Gwen was violently flung through the air and pushed toward the ovens. However, the theater roared with laughter when she was in the air, so perhaps it was.

Overall, the film was a good addition to the franchise but felt a little mediocre at the end. Would you take a dare and go see this in theaters?

Grade: 4/10