Halloween is almost here which means it’s time for all things scary. To celebrate, we’re reviewing a horror movie released in June called The Black Phone. Or as we call it: the movie where Ethan Hawke kidnaps children.
Phone takes place in the 70’s when milk cartons still displayed missing children. And in this fictional version of Denver, there are plenty on display. Someone is snatching boys right and left. His nickname is “The Grabber.” One of the missing boys is Finny (Mason Thames) who finds himself face to face with the masked Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in a basement where a mysterious black phone rests on the wall. The phone is disconnected, but it starts ringing. When Finny answers it, he finds the voices of the Grabber’s victims on the other line determined to help him stop their killer once and for all.
Join Jon and Tim as they discuss their favorite scary movies, bad parenting decisions, Nicolas Cage freaking out, Jon’s love for Ethan Hawke, the man behind the mask, the “Grabber” in all of us, Dan Baker’s book theft, bad child acting, derivative writing, 70’s cliches, the power of phones, Tim’s alternate ending, clumsy execution, the redemption of the victimized, God’s justice vs. our justice, loving the unlovable, a portrait of authentic faith, the sacredness of every life, a cosmic happy ending, why no one gets away with anything, and how darkness reminds of the light.
