Hang up on the dreadful 'Black Phone 2,' a horror sequel that leaves you on hold

It’s wide from the beingness and execution of “Black Phone 2” that Universal and Blumhouse ne'er expected 2021’s “The Black Phone” to beryllium a hit. If determination was ever an inkling that the archetypal movie mightiness person been much than a speedy and soiled ’70s-style riff connected a boogeyman tale, there’s nary mode those successful complaint would person fto their large baddie, the Grabber, beryllium killed disconnected astatine the extremity of the movie.

But a deed it was and so, for a sequel, supernatural elements indispensable beryllium spun retired and ’80s slasher classics consulted, particularly since it’s present 4 years later, successful 1982. Masked serial slayer the Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke (we ne'er truly spot his face, though we bash perceive his voice), continues to haunt, torment and maim children, contempt the inconvenience of death.

Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill co-wrote some films, with Derrickson down the camera arsenic director. The archetypal was based connected a abbreviated communicative by Joe Hill (the lad of Stephen King) and is acceptable successful 1978 Denver, wherever plucky Finney Blake (Mason Thames) had to flight the clutches of kidnapper the Grabber portion fielding telephone calls from the ghosts of his erstwhile victims, offering tips and tricks. What distinguished “The Black Phone” was its shocking attack to unit with its young characters, who each sported entertainingly profane potty mouths. While it was daring successful its hard-R riskiness and played connected our basest fears, it didn’t reinvent the wheel, oregon adjacent effort to. However, the film’s telephone conceit played good capable and young prima Thames was outstanding.

In “Black Phone 2,” Finney’s present a precocious schoolhouse student, drowning his trauma successful weed and schoolyard fights, sometimes the bully himself. He’s protective of his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who has the acquisition of psychic sight, but mostly helium conscionable wants to cheque retired from his ain brain. The sequel is chiefly Gwen’s movie. She starts lucid dreaming and sleepwalking, receiving telephone calls from beyond — similar from their dormant parent erstwhile she was a teen beyond.

The messages bring Gwen, Finney and her crush, Ernesto (Miguel Mora), to a wintertime retreat for Christian youth, Camp Alpine, present tally by Mando (Demián Bichir) and his niece, Mustang (Arianna Rivas). As it turns out, this campy is rife with the ghosts of young dormant boys — the telephone keeps ringing and it won’t halt until Finney picks it up.

If “The Black Phone” dabbles successful crimes that are taboo and is adjacent unforgivable successful its depiction of brutality against guiltless children, “Black Phone 2” commits its ain unforgivable transgression of being dreadfully boring. This movie is simply a snooze, not conscionable due to the fact that each of the enactment takes spot wholly during Gwen’s dreams.

The movie can’t shingle its lingering scent of “Stranger Things,” but the filmmakers person besides turned for inspiration to different iconic ’80s-set property: The full movie is simply a “Nightmare connected Elm Street” ripoff, with a disfigured slayer stalking his prey done their subconscious. Those sequences are fine, action-packed if not wholly scary, but astatine slightest it’s thing much rousing than the awake scenes, wherever the characters basal successful 1 spot and marque speeches to each different astir their trauma and backstories. The full matter is monotonously one-note and dour, with lone a fewer pops of unintentional humor.

You recognize astir instantly what the woody is with these shade boys, but the movie takes its saccharine clip explaining it all. It’s a reasonably elemental story, truthful you bash recognize wherefore Derrickson gussies it up with grainy imagination sequences and shaky 8mm flashbacks, and a beauteous terrific physics people composed by his son, Atticus Derrickson.

It’s besides a spot astonishing that “Black Phone 2” turns retired to beryllium truthful pious and profoundly Christian, which is simply a spot of an unusual mix. For a movie astir Jesus and the powerfulness of prayer, it besides features a country successful which a kid’s look gets sliced successful fractional by a windowpane. Then again, horror’s inclination toward the faith-based isn’t a astonishment erstwhile you instrumentality a look astatine the occurrence of the Bible-thumping “Conjuring” franchise.

However, it seems similar this mightiness beryllium the Grabber’s past hurrah. You’ll basal for the characters to vanquish him lone due to the fact that past the drudgery mightiness yet end. Who knows, possibly it’ll beryllium a deed and they’ll fig retired different mode to reanimate this utterly uninspiring fearfulness villain. Personally, I’ve had my capable of the Grabber’s grabbing.

Katie Walsh is simply a Tribune News Service movie critic.