The Black Phone’s Most Controversial Lore Is the Best Part of the Sequel

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The new movie recently released in theaters tells a new story about The Grabber, the child serial killer. What’s unsettling is that the villain was already killed in the first film, making his return feel more frightening and less grounded in reality. Picking up shortly after the events of The Black Phone, the sequel features a revamped and even more terrifying version of the main villain.

The first story centered on the widespread fear of child abductions, a concern that was particularly strong in the 1970s due to the capture of several infamous serial killers. However, the latest installment in the horror series shifted gears, focusing instead on psychic powers and a spiritual world that interacts with ours. While this approach didn’t appeal to everyone, it ultimately proved to be the strongest element of Black Phone 2.

The Paranormal Aspects of The Black Phone Were Controversial

The movie The Black Phone centers around The Grabber, a serial killer who targets young boys. He kidnaps Finney Blake, planning to make him his next victim. Finney is already facing hardship, having lost his mother and dealing with his father’s alcoholism. This makes Finney a particularly challenging captive for The Grabber. The Grabber tries to manipulate Finney into a twisted game to justify his abuse, but Finney resists and secretly plots his escape while pretending to be helpless. Fortunately, Finney receives help from the ghosts of The Grabber’s previous victims.

The first movie relies heavily on supernatural elements that drive the main story forward. While some viewers questioned these additions, the film wouldn’t be the same without ghosts and psychic powers. Finney’s sister, Gwen, could see visions of both the kidnapper and his victims, which helped the police find the bodies of those who had gone missing – and eventually led them to where Finney was being held, just across the street from the killer’s home. The ghosts of the previous victims were also important, showing both the lasting damage caused by the kidnapper and the inner strength needed to survive.

Viewers worried the sequel might lessen the fear and impact of stranger abductions, a major concern at the time. However, the first movie heavily featured supernatural elements – particularly with characters like Gwen and her psychic powers – and these couldn’t be ignored. Furthermore, bringing back the villain, The Grabber, after Finney strangled him in The Black Phone, naturally required incorporating supernatural aspects into the new storyline to make the sequel work with returning characters.

Some viewers might feel the supernatural parts, like Gwen’s visions, didn’t need to be so central to the idea of a truly haunted world. However, to avoid that, the movie would have needed to bring back the villain, The Grabber, in a complicated way – either by explaining his survival or by showing events that happened before the first film. That would have made it difficult to continue the story with Finney and Gwen Blake. Ultimately, though fans may have wanted a different path for this new horror series, the supernatural elements fit the story well as it was told in Black Phone 2.

This Was a Crucial Detail in Black Phone 2

While Black Phone 2 may not reach the same heights as the first film, it’s another successful horror movie that demonstrates the rewards of taking risks. Bringing back Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw as The Grabber, Finney, and Gwen, the sequel honors the original while building towards an engaging modern horror franchise. To justify future installments, the filmmakers cleverly found a way to logically bring back the memorable villain. Using supernatural elements to connect the characters felt like the perfect approach, especially given the paranormal aspects already present in the first film’s story.

Seventeen-year-old Finney Blake is still dealing with the emotional scars of being kidnapped, and he’s pushing away the people he cares about to protect them. When his fourteen-year-old sister, Gwen, starts having premonitions about boys in danger at Alpine Lake Camp, she persuades Finney to investigate. They discover their mother used to work at the camp, adding another layer to the mystery. Once there, trapped by snow, they realize the boys are former victims of The Grabber, who lured them to the camp. They uncover a terrifying truth: The Grabber’s power is connected to the hidden remains of three boys he murdered while working as a counselor there himself.

The plot relied heavily on supernatural elements to be believable. While the original film, The Black Phone, effectively used the fear of a stranger, the sequel turned the villain, The Grabber, into someone with supernatural powers who haunts people from beyond the grave. Although the story didn’t delve much into The Grabber’s past, it did explain that he gained his power by feeding off the suffering of his victims in the afterlife.

Gwen Blake played a much larger and more central role in Black Phone 2 than she did in the first film. While the original movie focused on Finney as the victim and Gwen trying to protect him, the sequel flips that dynamic – The Grabber targets Gwen, hoping to hurt Finney. This creates a supernatural showdown between Gwen, who has psychic abilities, and the undead spirit of The Grabber. By learning more about their mother’s own psychic powers, Gwen discovers she can harness the spirit world, giving her the ability to defeat The Grabber with Finney’s help.

The Grabber is the New Freddy Krueger

The trailer for Black Phone 2 sparked discussion about whether The Grabber could become today’s Freddy Krueger. While some saw potential for a long-running horror series, similar to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise (which has had its share of successful and unsuccessful films), many fans worried about changing the original story. But a closer look reveals that The Grabber and Freddy Krueger actually share quite a few similarities.

I’ve always been fascinated by villain origins, and both Freddy Krueger and the villain from The Black Phone really grab you. Before Freddy became the nightmare king, he was a monster who paid for his crimes, but came back for revenge by haunting the dreams of teenagers. It’s similar with The Grabber – we saw how he became the person he was, and then he died, only to seemingly continue terrorizing people from beyond the grave. If they make more Black Phone movies, I’m really hoping they explore what The Grabber is like as a supernatural being – imagine the terrifying things he could do with new, inhuman powers!

Now that the latest movie has done so well, another sequel is a real possibility. That’s great news for viewers who loved the new film and are eager to see what happens next with The Grabber’s story. While some who preferred the grounded feel of the original might not be as thrilled, it’s clear the series is leaning into its supernatural elements, and those will continue to be a key part of the story.

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2025-10-23 05:37