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The Black Phone
Movie

The Black Phone

2021 • Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Woke Score
1.8
out of 10

Plot

Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of no use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer's previous victims. And they are dead-set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney.

Overall Series Review

The Black Phone is a supernatural horror film focused on a 1978 child abduction. The narrative centers on Finney, a timid boy who must learn self-reliance and courage to escape his captor, The Grabber. Finney’s sister, Gwen, uses her psychic dreams to aid the police investigation, highlighting a strong sibling bond. The film’s themes are universal: overcoming personal fear, the cycle of abuse, and the pursuit of supernatural justice. It is a tightly focused survival story that avoids modern political themes, rooting the conflict in character development and a traditional battle against an unambiguous evil. The setting and character dynamics are authentic to the time period and the narrative's central crisis, with a significant theme of Christian faith providing strength to the young female lead.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The film focuses on the universal experience of childhood trauma, bullying, and resilience, not identity. Characters are defined by their courage and fear, not race or other immutable characteristics. The casting reflects a diverse suburban community of the era without any forced political lecturing or vilification of one race over another.

Oikophobia2/10

Institutions are not broadly attacked, but the primary home unit is depicted as severely broken due to an abusive, alcoholic father. This critique focuses on the specific dysfunction of a family and a cycle of violence within the town, not a general condemnation of the home culture or Western civilization. The sibling relationship is an institution of love and protection.

Feminism2/10

The male protagonist, Finney, undergoes a classic arc of growing from a victim to an agent of his own rescue, culminating in a powerful act of protective masculinity. His younger sister, Gwen, is a strong character with supernatural agency, but her role is complementary to Finney’s physical struggle, not a “Girl Boss” effort to emasculate him. The film showcases distinct but complementary strengths.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative features a normative structure, centering on the brother-sister bond and a traditional male-female pairing in the parental unit. Sexual identity and alternative sexualities are absent from the plot, which focuses on the survival of children from a non-sexualized predator. No lectures on gender theory or deconstruction of the nuclear family are present.

Anti-Theism3/10

The young female lead, Gwen, is an explicitly Christian character who prays to Jesus for help, making her faith a central part of her character arc. Her visions are implicitly presented as an answer to her prayers, offering a source of strength and guidance. The film explores the problem of evil with the presence of an omnipotent God but treats faith seriously rather than vilifying or mocking it.