Summary
- Ghosts guide Finney to escape a child killer's soundproof basement in The Black Phone using their past escape attempts.
- Finney defeats the Grabber at the end by choking him with the black phone line, bringing justice to the children he killed.
- Finney's sister Gwen has supernatural powers and leads police to the Grabber's hideout, revealing his twisted scheme.
The Black Phone reunites Ethan Hawke, director Scott Derrickson, and producer Jason Blum for another creepy supernatural tale, their last being Sinister. Mixing a disturbing serial killer story with haunted house tropes, The Black Phone creates a unique horror story filled with surprising revelations and unexpected twists. The film is based on the short story by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. So, if you want to know exactly what happens at the end of The Black Phone, we are here to recap all the main events and explain how everything ties together in a macabre way.
The Black Phone
- Release Date
- June 24, 2022
- Runtime
- 102 minutes
- Director
- Scott Derrickson
Cast
-
-
Mason Thames
WHERE TO WATCH
After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims.
- Writers
- C. Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson
What Is 'The Black Phone' About?
There are many different people doing their own thing during The Black Phone. First, we have Hawke’s Grabber, a serial killer with a sick taste for young boys. He has already kidnapped and killed at least three children by the time the movie starts. The Black Phone quickly shows the Grabber snatching two more victims until he chooses Finney (Mason Thames) as his sixth target. The movie mostly follows Finney’s struggle to escape the Grabber’s basement, a soundproof prison where the psychopath held the previous kids. While at first escape seems impossible, Finney soon finds out he can get calls from the ghosts of the Grabber's previous victims on an unplugged black phone. Each of the Grabber’s victims tried to escape the basement using a different method, and they are all eager to share what they learned with Finney. Unfortunately, every time Finney tries to escape, he fails like the previous victims. The victims' individual knowledge is not enough to escape Grabber’s trap. But when combined, all the tools Finney gets from his ghost allies can be assembled to allow the kid to fight for his life and take down the serial killer.
Finney Is Guided by Ghosts to Escape the Grabber
The first ghost Finney is contacted by is Bruce (Tristan Pravong), who shows where there’s a loose tile on the floor from where it’s possible to access the dirt below. Finney tries to dig his way outside his cell, but the process is too slow to be effective. Then, Billy (Jacob Moran) reveals he has hidden a long wire in the slit between the wall and the floor, which Finney could use to hook onto the grate covering the basement’s only window and climb out. The grate, however, falls with Finney’s weight. Then, it’s time for Griffin (Banks Repeta) to reveal the code for the lock protecting the Grabber’s house main door (it happens to be his bike lock). Finney gets to the street, but the serial killer drags him back to the basement.
The Entire 'Black Phone’ Cast Will Return for the Sequel
Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and more will return for Scott Derrickson's sequel.
The last escape route is revealed by Vance (Brady Hepner), who teaches Finney to break a hole through the wall to gain access to a big freezer. Finney unscrews a metal plaque in the back of the freezer, but this route is also barred since the freezer’s doors are locked from the outside. When every escape plan has failed, Finney’s best friend and last victim before Finney, Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora), shows up to say that fighting the Grabber is the only way to get out alive. Robin teaches Finney how to use the black phone as a weapon by filling the handset with the dirt he previously dug. Robin walks Finney through a movement with the phone to make sure he’ll knock the Grabber down, but just in case, he also decides to set a trap. With Billy’s wire and the screws from the freezer, Finn prepares to make the Grabber fall into the hole he dug in the floor.
Does Finney Escape the Grabber at the End of 'The Black Phone'?
When the decisive moment comes, the Grabber goes down the basement with an ax in his hands, followed by Samson, his bloodthirsty dog. The Grabber ties Samson close to the door to prevent Finney from escaping, moving closer to the boy with his ax in his hands. Finney hits the Grabber with the handset of the black phone and runs away from the serial killer. When the Grabber tries to pursue Finney, the kid pulls the wire. The Grabber falls into the hole and breaks his foot in the grate hiding in the bottom. Finney uses the opportunity to hit the Grabber repeatedly before choking the serial killer with the line of the black phone. Before the serial killer dies, the black phone rings one last time, just so the Grabber can hear the voices of the children he killed while he takes his last breath. Lastly, Finney uses the frozen meat from the freezer to distract Samson and get out of the basement.
Finney's Sister Gwen Has Her Own Supernatural Issues in 'The Black Phone'
While Finney is trying to escape the Grabber’s basement, his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), tries to help the police investigation. Just as Finney can speak with ghosts, Gwen is also blessed (and cursed) with supernatural sensibilities. The young girl has dreams about the future, and night after night, she tries to find new clues about where the Grabber is holding her brother. That’s a dangerous task, as her father, Terrence (Jeremy Davies), is a violent alcoholic willing to beat Gwen until she learns to lock away her powers.
Despite fearing her father’s punishment, Gwen keeps searching her dreams for clues about the Grabber’s home. At the end of The Black Phone, the girl leads the police to an abandoned house. Once they are investigating the place, the police find a basement with six graves, one of them empty. It’s in the basement of this vacant home where the Grabber left the dead bodies of his victims, and the open grave was waiting for Finney. Just as the police investigate the nefarious basement, Finney comes out the front door across the street. It turns out the Grabber owns both houses. His main home is where he kept his victims while they were alive so that he could play his sick games with the poor boys. The other house, empty, served only to dispose of bodies safely.
Finney walks out of his prison, still shocked after having killed the Grabber. The first person he sees is his sister, who runs in his direction and captures him in a hug. Their father comes to the scene a little later, when the two siblings are being taken care of in an ambulance. Seeing Finney alive, Terrence falls on his knees, asking forgiveness for how he treated their kids and their unique abilities. Hopefully, the event will motivate Terrence to drop the booze and become a better father. As for Finney, he becomes a legend in his school as the fierce child who killed the evil Grabber. We only have to wait one more year for the much-anticipated sequel, which is scheduled to hit theaters on June 27, 2025.
The Black Phone is available to rent on Amazon in the U.S.
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