Over the past few decades, few genres of film, if any, have grown as much as the horror genre. Deriving the bulk of its success from the classic 80’s franchises such as Nightmare on Elm Street and building upon said success year after year with new projects, the horror genre has evolved tremendously in recent years and has come to abandon many of the classic jump scare tactics in favor of those more abstract and well-thought out. Take, for instance, the beloved horror franchise Saw which sees a serial killer hunt down criminals only to make them play his twisted game of life or death, putting a brand new twist on the term psychological thriller. Now another unique horror project is right around the corner with the latest official trailer for Blumhouse’s The Black Phone being unveiled this week and it looks like the production studio has another hit on their hands.
Blumhouse has made quite the name for themselves over the past few years with franchises such as Insidious and The Purge. The production company has virtually established themselves as the leading name in all of horror, and now The Black Phone is ready to build upon that. An adaptation of the 2007 novel of the same name by Joe Hill, The Black Phone tells the story of a deranged lunatic who is going around his neighborhood kidnapping children and one of the unlucky young men who falls victim to said lunatic. As the trailer highlights though, it doesn’t just stop there: the young man is, for lack of a better term, haunted by the ghosts of his captors past victims who communicate with him through what appears to be an inoperable, black telephone. The trailer for the unusual story can be seen below starring Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames can be seen below, and if it piques your interest then you can catch The Black Phone in theaters on June 24th, 2022.
Blumhouse has virtually redefined the horror genre as we know it over the past decade, and it looks like The Black Phone is only going to help them build upon that success. The project is right in line with what they have produced in the past and it seems like it has the makings to be just as successful, if not more, than any of those projects. We will just have to wait and see when The Black Phone hits theaters this June.
