Black Phone 2, a snowy and sentimental spooky sequel from Scott Derrickson, is a mixed bag of horror do’s and don’ts. Set three years after the events of the first film, where kidnapped child captive Finney fought and killed a serial child murderer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) by communicating with his deceased victims through a kind of supernatural apparatus, i.e., a black phone, the sequel picks up with more messages from the great beyond. Derrickson’s followup is thoughtful and meditative in places, well-acted in others, shoddily written here and there, full of stylistic choices but light on actual scares: a menagerie of successes and shortcomings stuffed into one haunted receiver. Read More