Ethan Hawke, a crazy murderer

Each month that passed helped raise expectations, with horror fans licking their lips in anticipation. 

Why? Because the American filmmaker reconnects there with Ethan Hawke, star of his excellent Sinister, released in 2012. And even though 10 years have passed – and the two plots are as different as they are distinct – the relationship between the two works is undeniable. 

This time, we are taken back to the heart of the 1970s, when a murderer terrorizes a quiet suburb of Denver, Colorado. Roaming the streets in his sinister black van, he kidnaps young boys to sequester them in the soundproof basement of his house, where he has fun tormenting them.  

And what about the black telephone in all this? It is thanks to this obsolete device that the young boy will be able to communicate with the previous victims of his captor who will guide him in his attempts to escape. 

An iconic mask  

If The Black Telephonedoes not reinvent the genre in any way, it can nevertheless boast of being among its best offerings. That's largely thanks to Ethan Hawke, absolutely brilliant in his perfectly crazy interpretation. It's a safe bet that his mask – designed by none other than the master Tom Savini – will become an icon of horror on his own, like those used in Frissons or even Halloween. 

The actor is also particularly well surrounded. Young Mason Thames (dazzling in his first film role) succeeds in instilling credibility and determination into the character of a young hero, while Madeleine McGraw steals the show as her younger sister with prescient dreams. 

< p>Really, after a, shall we say, sparse offer in terms of horror this year, The Black Phone is receiving like an oasis of thrills and adrenaline that fans badly needed.    

The Black Phone  

★★★ 1⁄2

A film by Scott Derrickson

• Starring Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw. Featured.