The Black Phone

3 Stars (out of 4)

This tense horror movie seems a little tentative about how far to go with its subject of child kidnapping / murdering, but it still delivers some genuinely brutal tension via its vivid characters. It's 1978 in Denver. Local boys have been disappearing, never again turning up. Thirteen-year-old Finney (Mason Thames) is a target for bullies at school, even though his firecracker younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) sticks up for him. Gwen has clairvoyant powers, and sometimes dreams about "The Grabber" (Ethan Hawke), who kidnaps the boys and leaves behind black balloons. Meanwhile, Finney befriends the tough, streetwise Robin (Miguel Cazarez Mora), and is given a brief reprieve from his bullies. Unfortunately, Robin also disappears, soon followed by Finney himself... More...

Top 10 1980s Summer Movies

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
4. Blade Runner
5. Do the Right Thing
6. The Fly
7. Big Trouble in Little China
8. Gremlins
9. Pale Rider
10. Robocop

1. Elvis
2. Flux Gourmet
3. The Black Phone
4. Mad God
5. Top Gun: Maverick
6. The Man from Toronto
7. Murder at Yellowstone City
8. Benediction
9. Lightyear
10. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)