2022 is set to be a big year for horror movies, with a number of highly-anticipated releases such as Halloween Ends, Netflix’s sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead Rise, and much more. For fans looking for something original, The Black Phone should be high on up on the list.
From Sinister and Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, the literary adaptation is about a 13-year-old boy abducted by a serial killer, played by Ethan Hawke. He gets locked in a room with a disconnected phone and starts receiving calls from the dead.
Derrickson has proven his horror chops in the past, but hasn’t dipped his toes in the genre since 2014’s Deliver Us From Evil. The Black Phone was supposed to be released on February 4, 2022, but it’s getting pushed into the summer. According to Deadline, the film is now coming to theaters on June 24, 2022.
Sometimes delays can mean that a film either isn’t going to be finished on time, or that the quality isn’t up to standard. However, Blumhouse is moving The Black Phone to the prime summer months, which gives it a much bigger ceiling to be a hit. Also, the movie has been finished for months now, having already screened for critics.
Right now, the film is rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 11 reviews, so based on the early reactions, The Black Phone could be one of the biggest horror hits of 2022. Critics have already praised Hawke’s performance, who starred in Derrickson’s Sinister and it appears that the director and actor haven’t missed a beat.