Scott Derrickson has made millions on the unnerving emptiness between fragments of film grain. The horror films the director has made with screenwriter C. Robert Cargill – “Sinister” and “The black Phone” in particular – have used the aesthetics of Super 8 film to create a suggestive aura of supernatural menace. “The Black Phone 2” is no exception, with grain so dense in certain sequences that the actors are reduced to ghostly silhouettes. It’s an effective technique, which is probably why Derrickson keeps using it.

The Super 8 (and modified Super 16) sequences in “The Black Phone 2” provide the film with its most horrific imagery: fragmented shots of red feathers littering the snow around a child’s abandoned parka and thick, viscous blood oozing from a tree stump in the frozen woods. These are all echoes – some prophetic, others from the past – that recur in the dreams experienced by Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), younger sister of Finney (Mason Thames), the siblings that were also at the center of the original “The Black Phone.”

the Black Phone 2: A look at the Sequel and the Declining Relevance of Pay Phones

“The Black Phone 2,” the sequel to the 2021 horror film “The Black Phone,” revisits the terrifying story of Finney Blake and the Grabber. While the film aims to recapture the suspense of the original, a curious element of the “Black Phone” movies is that thier threat – the use of pay phones – feels increasingly anachronistic. The dramatic decline in the number of public pay phones in the United States since the rise of mobile phones makes the premise of a disembodied spirit terrorizing victims through phone booths a relic of the past.

The Disappearing Pay Phone

The premise of “The Black Phone” relies on the ubiquity of pay phones as a means for the Grabber to communicate with his victims and for the supernatural to manifest. However, the reality is that pay phones have been steadily disappearing for decades. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the number of pay phones in the U.S. has plummeted from approximately 2.2 million in 1998 to fewer than 20,000 today. This decline is directly attributable to the widespread adoption of mobile phones.

The Rise of Mobile Technology

The mobile revolution began in the 1980s and accelerated throughout the 1990s and 2000s. As mobile phone ownership increased, the demand for pay phones decreased correspondingly. The convenience and affordability of personal mobile devices rendered pay phones increasingly obsolete. Pew Research Center data consistently shows near-global mobile phone adoption across demographic groups in the United States.

“the Black Phone 2” and its 1981 Setting

“The Black Phone 2” is deliberately set in 1981, a time when pay phones were still a common feature of the American landscape. This setting is crucial to the plot, as it allows the Grabber to utilize pay phones as a primary method of communication and intimidation. The film frequently emphasizes this era with specific references and dialog, almost as a reminder of the context necessary for the story to function. However, this reliance on a specific past period also highlights the inherent limitations of the premise in a modern setting.

Why the Anachronism Matters

The anachronism isn’t necessarily a fatal flaw for the film. Horror often relies on tapping into primal fears, and the isolation and vulnerability associated with a pay phone can still be effectively portrayed.However, it does create a disconnect for modern audiences who have little to no personal experience with relying on public phones. The film’s success hinges on its ability to create suspense and terror despite this increasingly distant reality.

Key Takeaways

• The number of pay phones in the U.S. has drastically declined since the late 1990s.
• Mobile phone adoption is the primary driver of this decline.
• “The Black Phone 2” is set in 1981 to maintain the plausibility of its premise.
• The film’s reliance on pay phones highlights the changing technological landscape and its impact on horror tropes.

As technology continues to evolve, the cultural relevance of certain horror tropes will inevitably fade. “The Black Phone 2” serves as a reminder of a bygone era and a testament to the enduring power of fear,even when the source of that fear feels increasingly distant from our everyday lives. The future of horror may lie in exploring new anxieties rooted in contemporary technology and its impact on society.

Publication date: 2025/09/21 20:26:51