Stephen King Says ‘The Black Phone 2’ is Better than the Original
The Grabber is back.
Stephen King is a master of horror whose books have been turned into at least 76 movies. His son, Joe Hill has also become a successful horror writer whose work has been adapted into movies like Horns (2013), In the Tall Grass (2019) and the AMC series NOS4A2 (2019–2020). Hill’s most well-known adaptation is The Black Phone (2021) based on his short story of the same name.
Directed by Sinister‘s Scott Derrickson, The Black Phone is a supernatural horror movie about a young boy, Finney (Mason Thames), who is abducted by a child serial killer known as “the Grabber” (Ethan Hawke). Finney is held in the Grabber’s basement where a disconnected black phone on the wall occasionally rings and connects him with the Grabber’s past victims, who give him advice. Meanwhile, Finney’s sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) has psychic dreams that help the police close in on the Grabber.
The Black Phone 2 follows Finney and Gwen as they travel to a winter camp called Alpine Lake after Gwen repeatedly dreams of boys being stalked there. So far, the film has gotten favorable reviews. Although Stephen King is obviously biased as The Black Phone 2 is based on his son’s work, he Tweeted that he enjoyed this sequel more than the original.
Find out for yourself when The Black Phone 2 hits theaters on October 17, 2025.
