It took maybe the first ten seconds of the trailer for The Black Phone to convince me that I was going to see it. Now, that was supposed to be in January, but things happen and here we are now in June. Regardless, I definitely found the film worth the wait, and then I purposely waited to read the short story until I saw the film. As I’ve said before, the written word will always be good whether I read it before or after. The outcome for film or television adaptations varies, and typically not in the best way.
The story goes like this. There’s a pervert in town grabbing little kids off the street and then you never see them again. Hence, “The Grabber” is born and feared. Finney unfortunately is the next victim of this strange man trying to pass as a “part-time magician.” He finds himself in a cruddy basement with a mattress, a toilet, and a black phone with a cut cord. That last part is important because both the Grabber and Finney can hear the phone ring, but it’s only later when Finney answers the phone that he can hear the voices of past victims. They are trying to help him escape and get the Grabber caught for good.
That is the main crux of the story, and between the story and the film, there are several, inconsequential details that have been changed, but otherwise, the adaptation remains pretty faithful. For instance, Finney’s sister in the story is Susanne, while in the film it is Gwen. In the novel, the two siblings share a birthday and that creates some kind of mental connection between them, but in the film, Gwen is able to have visions or interactions with the dead. We also learn that this is some gift she got from her mother. Finney’s parents are both alive in the story, where his mother is dead in the film. I think all of these little differences help flesh out the story for a 103 minute film without taking away any integrity from the short story.
Another thing I knew that was going to be present in the film was a supernatural element, and while it was more visibly present than I thought it would be, it was still not so much that it ruined anything for me. Really, the whole film gave off a seriously creepy vibe, but the supernatural parts are what had me jump about a foot out of my seat. It could have succeeded either way in being a great film with or without the gratuitous supernatural scenes. There is a supernatural element in the short story, as well, but it plays such a small part and could also just be passed off as Finney’s imagination. That is not the case for the movie, given that he interacted with more dead children on the phone and saw their mutilated bodies in the room with him.
Overall, I really enjoyed both the film and Joe Hill’s short story a lot. The plot is something that could really happen in real life, and I suppose you could just chalk up the supernatural elements to hallucinations. Either way, I think if you like horror, this movie should definitely make it on your list. I hope to someday soon get my hands on the full short story collection that The Black Phone came from, but until then, I’m pretty well satisfied. Stray thought: my sister doesn’t agree, but this whole concept of this story reminded me a lot of The Lovely Bones. At least the film adaptation. If you happen to have seen both of these films, let me know if you agree with me in the comments!