Adapted from the short story by Joe Hill, the new Blumhouse horror movieThe Black Phoneis impressing audiences thanks to Ethan Hawke’s performance as the villain called The Grabber. The story is set in Denver in 1978 and follows a group of children who are terrified of rumors about a man kidnapping children and killing them.
The Black Phonehas a bit of a supernatural bent, as the main character, Finney (Mason Thames), is taken and spends time in a horrible basement, getting phone calls from the ghosts of previous victims. While the film is well-crafted and it’s a great adaptation, there is something missing in the portrayal of The Grabber that is ultimately a bit disappointing.
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The Black Phoneis a great example of horror marketingand has done really well at the box office. According toBox Office Mojo, the movie has grossed $114,583,175 worldwide. The movie is incredibly well done, with impressive performances, a strong story, and great source material. The movie has a generally oppressive atmosphere, as siblings Finney and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) live with their alcoholic, abusive father who doesn’t like that Gwen has psychic visions like her mother did. But the villain in the movie doesn’t feel as detailed, compelling, and thoughtful as the rest of the film.
Ethan Hawke can’t defend hisBlack Phonevillain, which makes sense since The Grabber abducts children, makes them stay in a creepy basement, and then murders them. The Grabber plays a game with them called Naughty Boy and when they attempt to come upstairs, he hurts them. He likes to sit in his chair in his kitchen with a belt, waiting for the moment when he can continue his plan. While this is definitely terrifying, andThe Black Phonehas many scary moments, The Grabber is a bit thin in terms oficonic slasher movie villains.
The problem is that audiences only get snapshots of how The Grabber take kids, as there are flashes of him kidnapping Finney and Gwen’s peers and then the screen fades to black. While this is an artistic choice, it’s more interesting to watch The Grabber dressed up in black, holding black balloons and driving a van around town. What is The Grabber’s backstory? How did he become the evil, horrible person that he is, and who was his first victim?
Every great horror villain has a specific look that fans can spot from a mile away. Ghostface wears a black and white mask and black cape and theiconic Michael Myershas a recognizable mask. The Grabber fits into this category, as he has a strange mask covering his face. Every time audiences see him, his mask is different. C. Robert Cargill, the movie’s writer, toldThe Hollywood Reporter, “each mask is also the character that he’s playing. That’s really a thing. In the film, he’s asked if he’s the one that killed all the other boys, and he goes, ‘No, that was someone else.’ So each mask represents a different part of the ritual for him and a different aspect of his personality.”
But while The Grabber looks scary, and of course, he has done terrible things that are unimaginable to think about, there is something missing. Perhaps if the movie showed how The Grabber took his other victims in more detail, audiences could understand him better and he would feel like a villain with more depth. The Grabber can never be asympathetic horror movie villainsince he takes and kills kids. But audiences could still find out more about him. When the spirits of the victims call Finney while he is in the basement, they should share more information about him. While it makes sense that they help Finney figure out how to hatch an escape plan and give him little bits of clues, this doesn’t feel like enough.
It also seems like Gwen could have more dreams and predictions about The Grabber. While she is able to figure out his location, which helps the police find him, Gwen could discover a lot more that would ultimately allow fans to have a more detailed picture of this villain. Gwen and Finney are so connected that this would work well.
The Grabber seems to have been abused and treated horribly by his family, which is why he has grown up to do the same thing. The tragic cycle of abuse is a theme inThe Black Phoneand is the motivation behind his actions. But when compared to other villains, fans just don’t find out enough about him. Audiences learn a lot about theGhostface killers inScreamas each one is revealed. Before Finney kills The Grabber, audiences should have a better, more well-rounded idea of who he was.
