Hello movie fans! I watched Black Phone 2 on the cinema last weekend. This is one of the horror movies I have been waiting for and watched this year. I also saw Sinners, Weapons and 28 Years Later earlier.
Summary
Set four years after the first film, the previous main character, Finney is still haunted by his experience at the hands of The Grabber. He expresses his anger and fear by fighting in school and tries to forget it at home. He still hears phones ring for him but he ignores it. Meawhile, his younger sister Gwen who has the "shining" starts dreaming again. She sees visions of young boys at a snowy camp being murdered.
Apparently, what she saw were previous victims of The Grabber and also involves their mother who we know in part one to have committed suicide. In part two, we learned what really happened and how it connected to The Grabber. They went to the snowy camp to investigate and somehow The Grabber is back Freddy Krueger like and he apparently gets his power from fear like Stephen King's IT. It's up to the siblings again to defeat The Grabber but this time Gwen takes center stage and Finney is somewhat a supporting character.
My Take on the Movie
The movie is a decent follow up the first movie. It expands on The Grabber's lore and also shows the sibling's mom's "shining" and how their stories connected. We also see why their dad is so against Gwen's dreams in part I. The movie had some jump scares and eerie snowy environment but just like Weapons I reviewed before, it dialed down on the gore. The movie transitioned from having a human antagonist to having a supernatural one. The Grabber's powers borrowed some elements from Freddy Krueger and IT but he is half as scary compared to either of them. Aside from his previous victims in the flashbacks, the body count in this movie were practically nil.
We watched in the cinema to better appreciate seeing it on wide screen but the movie is shown in grainy sequences which made me regret spending money to watch it on big screen. It would have been enough to watch it on streaming but I cannot wait for it. I'd rate it 3 out of 5, not a bad follow up but not enough for me to wish for a third part.
Photos were from imdb.
Annabelle Comes Home really caught me off guard when it came out, remember watching this one in theater, I remember going into this movie I was already pretty tired of The Conjuring Universe pumping out sequel after sequel but damn this one kind of won me over with its throwback energy that felt almost like something new compared to the rest. The whole concept is very simple, Ed and Lorraine Warren played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga bring that creepy ass doll to their house and lock it up in what is basically a museum of cursed objects, then they leave their daughter Judy with a babysitter and her nosy friend Daniela who ends up opening Annabelles case because she wants to talk to her dead dad. Once that happens all hell breaks loose and multiple demons start terrorizing these girls throughout the house, you got The Ferryman The Bride some hellhound running around outside and a bunch of other nightmare fuel, what really worked for me was that the movie did not just rely on one demon, they threw several at us so if one did not land there were others to keep things interesting. Sure the first half dragged a bit and some scenes could have been trimmed down because watching someone walk around a room for what feels like forever gets old fast, but once everything ramped up near the end I was actually having a good time, the movie takes itself way too seriously for what it is which is a cliche horror setup about a babysitter in a haunted house, but honestly I had more fun with this than I expected and walked away thinking it was worth the watch, probably a solid 7 out of 10 for me.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/jz6k4kse)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/jz6k4kse)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/jz6k4kse)
Now lets talk about the actual scares because thats where the magic of any horror movie is, in this case some of them worked really well and some of them felt like they were just going through the motions without much payoff which was disappointing. The Ferryman was probably my favorite of all the demons running around because every time you heard those coins rubbing together you knew something bad was about to go down, that background audio alone was more effective than half the jump scares in the movie and I wish they had done more with him instead of just having him pop up a few times and disapear without much explanation. The Bride on the other hand felt underutilized in a big way, theres this whole thing where the wedding dress makes people violent and she stabs Daniela except it turns out to be a fake out and then she vomits blood into her mouth which was gross as hell but then nothing really comes from it like no possession no lasting effects it just moves on like it never happened which felt like a huge missed opportunity to do something actualy scary. The hellhound was cool in concept but again not enough screen time to make it feel like a real threat, same with the samurai armor that just screams at people in Japanese and does basically nothing else besides look creepy in the background, it felt like the movie was trying to cram in as many different demons as possible without giving any of them enough room to breathe and develop into something truly terrifying. By the time the third act rolled around I was getting tired of seeing new threats pop up without any of them getting proper resolution, its like they wanted to set up future spin off movies more than they wanted to tell a cohesive story here which is frustrating when youre trying to enjoy the movie in front of you.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/jz6k4kse)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/jz6k4kse)
What I did like the most though was how the movie tried to keep things feeling grounded even with all the supernatural chaos happening around these characters, the 70s setting worked really well, for the most part this is something I really enjoy from the Conjuring Franchise since they nail the era either if its 60s, 70s, for the most part it works out, this time give the whole thing a retro vibe that separated it from modern horror where everyone has a cell phone to call for help or look stuff up. Here these girls are stuck with rotary phones and dim lighting and creepy wallpaper everywhere which just adds to the atmosphere in a way that feels authentic, Gary Doberman who directed this did a solid job with the visuals and keeping the tension up even when the script wasnt doing him any favors. Some of the shots where you could see something lurking in the background while the characters were clueless and unaware, were very creepy and reminded me of why I fell in love with this franchise in the first place, there was this one scene with coins on someones eyes that actually felt the chills without it even doing much. The music was also on point throughout the whole thing, it never overpowered the scenes but it was always there in the background adding just enough dread to make you uncomfortable and just keeps adding to the overall experience. The performances across the board were strong and everyone seemed committed to selling this ridiculous horror story because lets face it, if it wasnt for a girl who wanted to talk to her dad none of this had happen, Madison Iseman as Mary Ellen and Katie Sarife as Daniela both brought their A game and made me care about what happened to them even when Daniela was being an idiot. There is also this boyfriend character Bob who shows up and he was mostly there for comic relief but hes so sweet and genuine that you cant help but root for him to survive the night, the kid literally fights off a hellhound with his guitar which sounds ridiculous on paper but somehow works in the context of the movie.
Lets keep things grounded and realize this is just entertainment and wont be perfect because there are some holes on this movie and Im not going to pretend it doesnt have some serious issues that bothered me, at the end of the day this is a pretty cliche horror setup about a babysitter in a haunted house but it acts like its trying to be this grand epic statement about good versus evil which just doesnt land for me. Its when Annabelle gets locked back in her case everything goes back to normal instantly and all the demons just vanish like they were never there, which felt like a cop out because it didnt really explain why that worked or what the rules were supposed to be in this universe and the only logic I could find is that there is a legion of demons inside Annabelle and not just one, I guess the doll is also like a beacon for spirits so once she was contained they have no anchor but it would have been nice to get a little more clarity on that instead of just hand waving it away. The pacing is also all over the place with the first half moving at a snails pace with long drawn out scenes of people walking around in the dark looking at stuff and then the second half tries to throw everything at you at once and it ends up feeling messy like they ran out of time. I wish they had spread out the action more evenly instead of front loading all the boring parts and then trying to make up for it with chaos at the end, it would have made for a much better viewing experience if things had been balanced out better. Despite all that I still had more fun with this than I expected, its not perfect and its not going to blow anyones mind or reinvent the horror genre but its a solid entry in The Conjuring Universe that does enough right to make it worth watching if you go in with reasonable expectations. If you just want a fun horror movie to kill an evening with you will probably have a good time.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/mtsx6p7h)
Season 4 splits up Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri for basically the entire season AGAIN!!, so your watching three completely separate shows that barely connect to each other at all that by now has become and old joke that doesnt has effect anymore, this is just me talking about the entertaining side of things without knowing if this is how the books play out, it makes the whole thing feel disjointed and messy. Geralt just wanders around with his new company, fighting random monsters, meeting people who either join his quest or die along the way, most of them you dont really care about because there not given enough time to develop properly. Ciri hangs out with the Rats doing robberies, catching feelings for Mistle, from what I could find out online that whole relationship is suppose to be way more messed up, problematic and uncomfortable than how the show presents it and honestly the hole Rats thing was very cringe AF. Yennefer gets stuck recruiting mages all over the continent to fight Vilgefortz, witch takes forever to actually get interesting because they took the first four episodes for build up that felt more like everyone was lost, its repetitive as hell. Geralts storyline is probably the best part of the season because at least your following the main character doing stuff that kind of matters so they should have nailed this part easily. He meets Regis, who is played by Laurence Fishburne and honestly Regis is one of the few bright spots this season, they use a lot of animated content when it comes to his backstory that I like very much, he went on a violent rampage that got him killed and it took him 50 years to regenerate from being torn apart, its a powerful metaphor for redemption. They make his character more about him wanting peace, witch makes it so odd compared to the classic vampire we get from fantasy stories, this one is a day walker, eats food, control his thirst for blood and help others.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/mtsx6p7h)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/mtsx6p7h)
Yennefers storyline is hands down the worst part of season 4, but at the same time gave me the best battle of the season too. She spends the whole season teleporting around, recruiting mages to form the Lodge of Sorceresses, and fight Vilgefortz, witch sounds cool on paper but the execution is so boring, repetitive and dragged out that you just stop caring after a while. The show makes the lodge seem like this heroic feminist group, fighting for the greater good, when they are manipulative, power hungry witches, who most likely will try to control Ciri for there own purposes, in my opinion nothing has change is just that they all had their asses on fire with Vilgefortz on kill mode, they are villains not heroes. Philippa Eilhart is suppose to be a cold, ruthless villain, one of the main antagonists actually but the show turned her into this sympathetic character who helps Yennefer instead, you can tell nobody in there likes Yennefer. The show turns Yennefer into some generic badass leader, training mages with swords, under the supervision of Lambert and Cohan, witch is not so hard to believe based on the show since they know how close Geralt and Yennefer are so yeah they just want to help although if you based that concept on the book Im over 110% it was very unlikely, why are sorceresses learning sword fighting when they have magic?? thats another point, the amount of inconsistencies along the show, not only mages sword fighting but there were some scenes that make no sense if there isnt magic in between. Theres also this weird witch on a broomstick scene, with a character wearing a pointy hat, black robes, that feels totally out of place, like are we doing classical witch vibes now or what??, its so inconsistent with the rest of the shows visuals. The final battle at Monte Calvo is actualy pretty cool, with all the mages fighting Vilgefortz army, portaling around, throwing fireballs, its decent action but it takes FOUR fkn episodes to get there. Oh and Vilgefortz escapes anyway, the had one job, so the whole thing feels pointless, like what was even the point of all that buildup if he was just gonna run away, Yennefer goes after him alone at the end witch I guess sets up Season 5.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/mtsx6p7h)
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/mtsx6p7h)
Ciris storyline with the Rats is super rushed and cringe story I have seen on TV in a long time, I hated every time the rats come on scene aside from them been heavy into drugs and alcohol, it never feels like your average drunk, when they completely botch the Mistle relationship I think they do the drugs thing to stay controversial but from my understanding on the books this is way worst and has a bigger impact on her story but Im not using the books to put up my opinion since Im just an average viewer who have never read the books or play the games just like Geralt as a bad ass fighter. Now Ciri fight scenes they were on point, I think they did an awesome job with Freya Allan, I could see Ciri having a sparing session with Geralt and getting him on trouble more than once. From the start I never like the whole Falka thing, the series makes the Rats seem like this fun group of outlaws, doing Robin Hood type stuff, robbing tax collectors, helping villagers and her relationship with Mistle comes off as cute, romantic, wholesome, instead of deeply problematic, toxic, born from trauma as they clearly didnt want to deal with the uncomfortable aspects of the story, so they just sanitized everything, made it easy for mainstream audiences, but honestly this is a reality as adaptations are for the MAINSTREAM not for the fans, I get it that anyways they did it wrong because Ciri story sux for the most part but this is where I have a problem with people that gives a 2/10 to an episode or the entire series just because its not like the books or the game, everyone has an opinion but lets be realistic this is not a 2/10 Season. Remember how I mention inconsistencies?? well Ciri had a huge one when she caught up a cart going out of the city on foot, they even zoom out latter when she is rushing out on horse mount to save the Rats, the town was like a marathon away, like WTF. All this after she finally decided to escape this hole Robin Hood world she was living in that clearly was not her and now has to go back to reality, they really tone it down there because my understanding is that the Rats in the books abuse her at first. Towards the end of the season Leo Bonhart shows up, kills all the Rats in this brutal fight scene that actually looks pretty good, the choreography, camera work, violence, is all solid, Sharlto Copley does a great job as Bonhart even though his storyline feels like a speedrun. He just shows up, murders everyone in like 2 minutes, captures Ciri, no buildup, no tension, just bam heres Bonhart now he is gone. Ciri tries to fight him but loses easily, gets captured, tied up and this turns in another cliff hanger for season 5, she basically look helpless against someone like Bonhart, who collects Witcher medallions from all the Witchers hes killed, wears them as trophys, now thats a real bad ass mf.
