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The Black Phone

385 statements
75 feature instances
10 referencing feature instances

The Black Phone	type	TVTItem
The Black Phone	label	The Black Phone
The Black Phone	page	TheBlackPhone
The Black Phone	comment	The Black Phone is a 2021 horror film directed by Scott Derrickson. It was written by Derrickson and his Sinister and Doctor Strange (2016) collaborator C. Robert Cargill based on the short story of the same name by Joe Hill from his collection 20th Century Ghosts. Hill also executive produces.Set in 1978 in Denver, Colorado, the film follows Finney (newcomer Mason Thames), a young boy who is kidnapped by a serial killer (Ethan Hawke) and is trapped in his basement. His only chance for escape is to use a mysterious phone that allows him to contact the killer's past victims.The film was produced by Jason Blum through Blumhouse Productions. It was released on June 24, 2022 note It was originally meant for a February 4th release, but was pushed back due to concerns regarding the Omicron variant..A sequel is in development with a planned release of June 27, 2025.Previews: Trailer 1, Trailer 2
The Black Phone	fetched	2024-02-19T23:15:03Z
The Black Phone	parsed	2024-02-19T23:15:03Z
The Black Phone	processingComment	Dropped link to AdaptationalNameChange: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Black Phone	processingUnknown	AdaptationalNameChange
The Black Phone	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Black Phone / int_121b3725	type	Age Lift
The Black Phone / int_121b3725	comment	Age Lift: Finneyâ€™s older sister in the short story is changed to his nine-year-old younger sister Gwen in the film.
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The Black Phone / int_12f58a7b	type	Supernatural Phone
The Black Phone / int_12f58a7b	comment	Supernatural Phone: The titular Black Phone is in Finney's holding cell after the Grabber kidnaps him. Through this phone, the ghosts of the Grabber's previous victims can talk to Finney, encouraging him to Dare to Be Badass and to not give up, as well as give him some ideas as to how to escape. Even when the phone itself is ripped off of the receiver at the end of the film, it still rings one last time as a way for the Grabber's victims to taunt the Grabber with his imminent death at the hands of Finney giving the Grabber a Neck Snap.
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The Black Phone / int_14cde8b2	type	Mask of Confidence
The Black Phone / int_14cde8b2	comment	Mask of Confidence: anytime the Grabber is with Finney, he wears his devil mask (see below). At the very end, when Finn pulls the mask off, it reduces the Grabber to a gibbering coward who lets go of Finn in order to try and cover his own face. This proves to be his undoing.
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The Black Phone / int_166e33f3	type	Little Miss Badass
The Black Phone / int_166e33f3	comment	Little Miss Badass: Gwen. Throughout the film, despite her small physical stature, she does not hesitate to provide ample demonstrations of this trope: giving a withering profanity-laced response to one of the detectives questioning her when he sort of implies she might have something to do with the Grabber (due to her dreams giving her information not released to the public); splitting open the head of a bully beating up her brother with a rock the size of a baby's head; and fearlessly tracking down the housing unit where the Grabber commits his crimes note Although not her fault, the climax of the film reveals that the Grabber has another house for killing (although both houses are directly in front of each other.) The one that is shown in her psychic visions and the police bust is just for storing his victims' corpses. There is also an implication that the boys may have deliberately guided her to their bodies instead of Finney to give Finney time to kill the Grabber.. by herself.
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The Black Phone / int_178ca149	type	The Worf Effect
The Black Phone / int_178ca149	comment	Robin, who is taken by the Grabber before Finney is kidnapped, is introduced by beating up a larger student until the latter is bleeding. This demonstration of his fighting skills serves to make the fact that he is taken and murdered all the more shocking to the characters.
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The Black Phone / int_19a5d773	type	They Look Just Like Everyone Else!
The Black Phone / int_19a5d773	comment	They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: The Grabber. The movie goes hard with having him hide his face and always wearing differing masks to reflect his emotions. But near the end, Finney knocks off his mask, showing his face to be just as everyone else's, but even then The Grabber becomes incredibly infuriated at losing his mask.
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The Black Phone / int_1cd602ef	type	Calling Card
The Black Phone / int_1cd602ef	comment	Calling Card: the Grabber always has a bundle of black balloons when he abducts a victim, which he leaves at the scene. Gwen knows about this from her dreams, which puts her in touch with the police as they did not release this information.
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The Black Phone / int_1e584efa	type	Cruel and Unusual Death
The Black Phone / int_1e584efa	comment	Cruel and Unusual Death: A character in this movie gets his leg broken, bludgeoned in the head, and strangled with a cord, ending with a Neck Snap. That character is the Grabber, who of course deserves every single second of it.
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The Black Phone / int_211c82f5	type	Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off!
The Black Phone / int_211c82f5	comment	Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off!: Finney and Gwen's father gives Gwen's bottom a vicious spanking with a belt in an effort to discourage her from believing in her psychic powers. The Grabber's modus operandi also echoes corporal punishment — he uses a knife to finish his victims off, but he prefers to beat them with a belt first as punishment for "disobeying" him.
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The Black Phone / int_214c0753	type	Angry Guard Dog
The Black Phone / int_214c0753	comment	Angry Guard Dog: Played with: the Grabber owns a large dog named Samson, which barks during Finney's first escape attempt, and is later used to guard the exit to the basement when the Grabber plans to kill Finney, but the dog is never shown harming anyone, and is dealt with by Finney distracting it with a steak.
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The Black Phone / int_23473ae7	type	Adaptation Expansion
The Black Phone / int_23473ae7	comment	Adaptation Expansion: As the movie is based on a short story, it naturally adds a lot of new material to stretch the story to movie length. These include the subplot of Finney's father being abusive, Finney's ill-fated first escape attempt, and both Finney's sister and the Grabber's brother getting more focus than they did in the short story.
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The Black Phone / int_23568a2a	type	Adaptational Job Change
The Black Phone / int_23568a2a	comment	Adaptational Job Change: The Grabber refers to himself as a clown in the original short story. In the film, heâ€™s a magician. The change was to avoid comparisons to Pennywise.
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The Black Phone / int_2ad8a2a1	type	Deathly Unmasking
The Black Phone / int_2ad8a2a1	comment	Deathly Unmasking: The Grabber wears his devil mask in almost every scene, but Finney pulls it off during their final struggle â€” which directly leads to the Grabber's death as he panics and scrambles to cover his face, which allows Finn to strangle him.
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The Black Phone / int_2d4fa515	type	Ax-Crazy
The Black Phone / int_2d4fa515	comment	Ax-Crazy: The Grabber descends into this once his captives show themselves to be "naughty boys" and give him an excuse to unleash his rage. This becomes quite literal in the film's climax when the Grabber wields an ax to deadly effect when he kills his brother.
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The Black Phone / int_308ac24f	type	Fantasy-Forbidding Father
The Black Phone / int_308ac24f	comment	Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Finney and Gwen's father gives Gwen a good spanking with his belt for believing that her psychic dreams are real.
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The Black Phone / int_3e2d68db	type	Menacing Mask
The Black Phone / int_3e2d68db	comment	Menacing Mask: in almost all his scenes, the Grabber wears a finely detailed demonic mask with interchangeable mouthpieces displaying different facial expressions, though sometimes he just wears the upper part (making it more like a theatre mask) or the lower part.
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The Black Phone / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
The Black Phone / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: Finney successfully defeats the Grabber and escapes his imprisonment and is then found and rescued by Gwen and the police. Not only that but Finney is now popular among his classmates, has more confidence, and is no longer bullied. On the bad side of things, Gwen and Finney still have to live with their abusive father (who has at least apologized for his behavior) and Finney will no doubt be traumatized for life from his kidnapping. Not to mention the fact that Bruce and the other boys are still dead and their families have to deal with that.
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The Black Phone / int_4637914d	type	Suburban Gothic
The Black Phone / int_4637914d	comment	Suburban Gothic: The film plays on a lot of the same anxieties about stranger danger, stalkers and abductions present in Halloween (which is appropriate, since they both are set in 1978), the killer wandering about just out of sight throughout the film. Set in the suburbs of Everytown, America, the Grabber kidnaps Finney in the middle of the street in broad daylight, and he manages to recapture him when he escapes with only porch lights coming on from his cries for help. Even when Gwen has dreams of the house where his victim's bodies are buried, the address number has to be spelled out to her because the houses look similar to each other.
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The Black Phone / int_479d4e5a	type	Would Hurt a Child
The Black Phone / int_479d4e5a	comment	Would Hurt a Child: The Grabber had killed five kids prior to the film, with the intent of making Finney his sixth victim.
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The Black Phone / int_4aaffbd5	type	I Never Said It Was Poison
The Black Phone / int_4aaffbd5	comment	I Never Said It Was Poison: An early hint that Gwen's visions are accurate is that she reports that the Grabber carried black balloons, a detail the police did not release to the public.
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The Black Phone / int_4de1a4f7	type	Improvised Weapon
The Black Phone / int_4de1a4f7	comment	Improvised Weapon: The titular black phone's handset, which Finney packs with dirt at Robin's instructions to give it heft, is used first to punch the Grabber's lights out while he's stuck in the pit trap with a twisted/broken ankle, and then when he's sufficiently incapacitated uses the cord as a garrote to snap his neck.
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The Black Phone / int_4e7f703c	type	Wham Shot
The Black Phone / int_4e7f703c	comment	Wham Shot: Part way through the movie the police interview Max, an eccentric drug addict and all around loser who is living with his brother and is obsessed with the case. The police brush off his theories as cocaine-induced ramblings and Max goes right back to his theories once they leave. Then the camera pans to reveal that unbeknownst to Max and the police, Finney is being kept locked up in the basement of that very house thereby revealing Max's brother as the Grabber.
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The Black Phone / int_508d91a2	type	Pre-Mortem One-Liner
The Black Phone / int_508d91a2	comment	Pre-Mortem One-Liner: As in the short story, Finney tells the Grabber "It's for you" before pressing the black phone to the killer's ear, allowing him to hear his victims' ghosts taunting him before Finney snaps his neck.
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The Black Phone / int_538273bd	type	Adaptational Superpower Change
The Black Phone / int_538273bd	comment	Adaptational Superpower Change: In the original story, Finneyâ€™s sister is stated to have a psychic link with her brother. Here, her psychic abilities are portrayed more as prophetic visions.
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The Black Phone / int_557838d1	type	Adaptational Attractiveness
The Black Phone / int_557838d1	comment	Adaptational Attractiveness: The Grabber is described as being "grotesquely fat" in the original short story, as well as having a shaven head. He's played in the film by Ethan Hawke, who is slim and has shoulder-length hair. James Ransone, who has a similar figure, likewise plays the killer's brother Max, who in the story has a "round and plump" face and receding hairline.
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The Black Phone / int_5989e3b6	type	Enemy Mine
The Black Phone / int_5989e3b6	comment	Enemy Mine: The ghost of Vance doesn't actually care about Finney, he just hates the Grabber.
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The Black Phone / int_59907e4f	type	Police Are Useless
The Black Phone / int_59907e4f	comment	Police Are Useless: Played realistically: Denver's police department in the 1970s predictably struggles to catch a serial killer, especially a meticulous one who takes steps like soundproofing his basement and buying a different house to store the victims' corpses in. It takes Gwen's psychic dreams for them to get a break in the case, and in the finale, they don't play a role in freeing Finney or killing the Grabber.
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The Black Phone / int_5ac26edf	type	Friendly Ghost
The Black Phone / int_5ac26edf	comment	Friendly Ghost: Or at the very least, ghosts who want to spare our hero their fate. One of the ghosts actually is Finneyâ€™s friend, Robin, who was abducted a few days before he was. It is actually Robin who gives Finney the encouragement he needs to get through his Darkest Hour for one last grab at freedom.
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The Black Phone / int_63d861f8	type	Even Evil Has Loved Ones
The Black Phone / int_63d861f8	comment	Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Horrifically twisted. The Grabber has a brother named Max whom he affectionately refers to as "my idiot," but that does not stop him from brutally killing Max when he finds Finney in the basement and realizes that his brother was The Grabber. He then proceeds to blame Finney for Max's death at his own hands.
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The Black Phone / int_64070096	type	Cowardly Lion
The Black Phone / int_64070096	comment	Cowardly Lion: Finney is this in spades. He is initially shown as being unwilling to confront his bullies and abusive father or even initiate a conversation with his crush. Once the Grabber enters the picture, Finney more than rises to the occasion by being the first of The Grabber's victims to injure him during the initial kidnapping, threatens to scratch his face to make sure that he has a Revealing Injury as soon as he is able to talk, and eventually killing him with nothing but a broken phone receiver and his bare hands.
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The Black Phone / int_6d332aea	type	Driven to Suicide
The Black Phone / int_6d332aea	comment	Driven to Suicide: Finney and Gwen's mother committed suicide, which their father believes to have been a result of her believing in her psychic dreams.
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The Black Phone / int_729c69f3	type	Politically Incorrect Villain
The Black Phone / int_729c69f3	comment	Politically Incorrect Villain: not the Grabber, but Finney's three bullies call him homophobic slurs.
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The Black Phone / int_7301ae04	type	Serial Killer
The Black Phone / int_7301ae04	comment	Serial Killer: The main antagonist, the Grabber, has made a name for himself abducting children, imprisoning them, and then killing them when they get "naughty".
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The Black Phone / int_77ed6b7d	type	Troubling Unchildlike Behavior
The Black Phone / int_77ed6b7d	comment	Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Most of kids in this movie behave in an extremely violent manner, doing things to each other that would land an adult in prison for assault. Examples include the savage beating Robin gives Moose just for the benefit of the other kids watching, three bullies literally stomping on Finney, Gwen cracking open the head of one of them with a huge rock and getting soccer-kicked in the jaw as retaliation. Any one of those things could have landed the kid on the receiving end on the hospital, or dead.
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The Black Phone / int_7881f335	type	Chekhov's Armoury
The Black Phone / int_7881f335	comment	Chekhov's Armoury: The phone calls themselves prove to be this when every single piece of advice they give Finney all come crashing together in a five-minute period during the film's climax to allow him to kill The Grabber and escape his cell. The exposed cable, window bars, and pit that Finney attempted to use for his earlier escape plans are used as a pit trap, the weighted phone helps him beat the injured Grabber, and even the seemingly failed attempt to escape via the freezer provides Finney with some frozen steaks that he uses to distract the Grabber's guard dog, enabling him to escape.
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The Black Phone / int_7aba6494	type	Creepy Stalker Van
The Black Phone / int_7aba6494	comment	Creepy Stalker Van: The Grabber rides around in a large black van to abduct his victims.
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The Black Phone / int_7d260070	type	Corporal Punishment
The Black Phone / int_7d260070	comment	Corporal Punishment: Gwen gets a very hard spanking and then, while sobbing, is told not to ice her bottom.
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The Black Phone / int_7eebe99c	type	The Alcoholic
The Black Phone / int_7eebe99c	comment	Finney's father is shown to be easily upset by any sort of noise early in the morning, hinting at his status as The Alcoholic. Similarly, his constant irritation with his children and how fearful they are of upsetting him hints at him being an abusive parent.
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The Black Phone / int_7fd142ef	type	Shared Universe
The Black Phone / int_7fd142ef	comment	Shared Universe: Scott Derrickson's segment of V/H/S 85 focuses on an uncle and cousin of Finney's and Gwen's who also have psychic powers; Gwen herself is directly mentioned.
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The Black Phone / int_7febc23b	type	Establishing Character Moment
The Black Phone / int_7febc23b	comment	Establishing Character Moment: Finney's father is shown to be easily upset by any sort of noise early in the morning, hinting at his status as The Alcoholic. Similarly, his constant irritation with his children and how fearful they are of upsetting him hints at him being an abusive parent. Robin, who is taken by the Grabber before Finney is kidnapped, is introduced by beating up a larger student until the latter is bleeding. This demonstration of his fighting skills serves to make the fact that he is taken and murdered all the more shocking to the characters.
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The Black Phone / int_8042e814	type	Actually Pretty Funny
The Black Phone / int_8042e814	comment	Actually Pretty Funny: Gwen's profanity-laced rant towards the detectives causes Detective Wright to noticeably smirk despite him trying to maintain his professional demeanor.
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The Black Phone / int_8797239c	type	Bait-and-Switch
The Black Phone / int_8797239c	comment	Bait-and-Switch: The police are shown breaking into the house Gwen saw in her dreams during the climax while Finney is having his final showdown with his captor in the basement, but the house the cops broke into is a completely different, empty house. But BUT, it's where the Grabber buried his victims' bodies and right across the street from where Finney is being held.
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The Black Phone / int_8ed5c6e4	type	Asshole Victim
The Black Phone / int_8ed5c6e4	comment	Asshole Victim: Finney finally kills and gets his revenge on The Grabber during the climax before finally escaping. Considering the trauma he caused Finney and the other 5 kids he kidnapped and murdered, you're not going to feel sorry for him.
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The Black Phone / int_8fd7af48	type	Sir Swears-a-Lot
The Black Phone / int_8fd7af48	comment	Sir Swears-a-Lot: Gwen who despite being a little girl swears more than any of the other characters combined.
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The Black Phone / int_947ac4b0	type	White Mask of Doom
The Black Phone / int_947ac4b0	comment	White Mask of Doom: the Grabber's creepy devil mask, which is off-white and has different mouth attachments to reflect his moods. He's even wearing it on the poster.
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The Black Phone / int_9591377d	type	Heel Realization
The Black Phone / int_9591377d	comment	Heel Realization: Finney and Gwen's father, who after the climax, having realized that his daughter's visions are real and helped solve the Grabber case, and sees her with his now safe and sound son, falls to his knees and tearfully begs his children for forgiveness.
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The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_9591377d
The Black Phone / int_966da803	type	Defiant to the End
The Black Phone / int_966da803	comment	Defiant to the End: Zigzagged. After Finney traps him and beats the shit out of him, the Grabber just laughs maniacally and loudly at him, until Finney manages to knock off his mask, upon which he screams frantically and tries to cover his face.
The Black Phone / int_966da803	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_966da803	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_966da803
The Black Phone / int_9775a897	type	Just Toying with Them
The Black Phone / int_9775a897	comment	Just Toying with Them: the Grabber likes to play the â€œnaughty boyâ€� game with his victims, leaving the basement door unlocked and waiting outside to violently beat them for trying to leave without permission. At one point he offers to let Finney go and asks his name. Finney gives him a fake one and the Grabber immediately reveals a newspaper article containing Finn's real name and says â€œToo bad, I was almost going to let you go.â€�
The Black Phone / int_9775a897	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_9775a897	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_9775a897
The Black Phone / int_9bcd82c0	type	Took a Level in Badass
The Black Phone / int_9bcd82c0	comment	Took a Level in Badass: Finney goes from a kid who runs from bullies and has to be defended by other students or his younger sister to someone who improvises a succession of escape plans, kills a notorious serial killer, and finds the courage to sit with his crush and talk to her.
The Black Phone / int_9bcd82c0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_9bcd82c0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_9bcd82c0
The Black Phone / int_9e4ed124	type	Mundanger
The Black Phone / int_9e4ed124	comment	Mundanger: The antagonist is a regular human serial killer, whereas the supernatural elements (the voices of the ghost children and Gwen's premonitions) are all instrumental in saving Finney's life.
The Black Phone / int_9e4ed124	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_9e4ed124	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_9e4ed124
The Black Phone / int_a8660c25	type	Soft-Spoken Sadist
The Black Phone / int_a8660c25	comment	Soft-Spoken Sadist: The Grabber rarely raises his voice above a normal volume and whispers what is probably the film's most graphic threat to Finney after Finney makes his first escape, threatening to "gut [him] like a pig".
The Black Phone / int_a8660c25	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_a8660c25	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_a8660c25
The Black Phone / int_aabe2fb	type	Deliberate Values Dissonance
The Black Phone / int_aabe2fb	comment	Deliberate Values Dissonance: The movie takes place in 1978 and multiple instances that would have serious consequences in 2022 are treated as irrelevant or normal. Gwen's bottom is spanked very hard with her father's belt. In those days "a good spanking" was often seen as an essential part of child discipline. Robin beats another boy bloody on school grounds and is later seen calmly taping up his hands, apparently not even getting in trouble for the fight. The two detectives spot obvious cocaine on Max's table and only condescendingly suggest he "clean up his mess" before his brother gets home. Children are still allowed to walk home from school despite a Serial Killer having kidnapped several boys over the course of what seems to be mere months.
The Black Phone / int_aabe2fb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_aabe2fb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_aabe2fb
The Black Phone / int_acecb17d	type	Chekhov's Skill
The Black Phone / int_acecb17d	comment	Chekhov's Skill: Finney's "mint" throwing arm from playing pitcher for his baseball team is what enables him to give The Grabber a Neck Snap-by-phone-cord-garrote.
The Black Phone / int_acecb17d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_acecb17d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_acecb17d
The Black Phone / int_b11ac9f5	type	Abusive Parents
The Black Phone / int_b11ac9f5	comment	Abusive Parents: Finney and Gwenâ€™s father is an alcoholic who violently spanks Gwen because of her prophetic dreams causing the police to question him at his workplace since Gwen knew details about the case she couldn't have possibly known. After getting Finn back alive at the end, he apologizes and perhaps will change his ways.
The Black Phone / int_b11ac9f5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_b11ac9f5	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_b11ac9f5
The Black Phone / int_b4de919d	type	Make an Example of Them
The Black Phone / int_b4de919d	comment	Make an Example of Them: While talking to Finney about his fight with Moose, Robin admits that he knew Moose was done when he threw him to the ground, and that beating Moose's face to a bloody pulp when he couldn't even fight back was for the benefit of making a point to those watching the fight. If the reaction of the bullies later on is any indication, they got the message.
The Black Phone / int_b4de919d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_b4de919d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_b4de919d
The Black Phone / int_b5043180	type	Don't Look At Me
The Black Phone / int_b5043180	comment	Don't Look At Me: The Grabber has this reaction when his mask comes off at the end.
The Black Phone / int_b5043180	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_b5043180	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_b5043180
The Black Phone / int_b9514d6a	type	Balloon of Doom
The Black Phone / int_b9514d6a	comment	Balloon of Doom: the Grabber's signature prop for his abductions: a large bundle of black balloons.
The Black Phone / int_b9514d6a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_b9514d6a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_b9514d6a
The Black Phone / int_ba72eebb	type	Waif-Fu
The Black Phone / int_ba72eebb	comment	Waif-Fu: Robin is a rare male example, being a slender boy with no real musculature who is regarded as the toughest kid in school, able to beat up bullies much larger than him.
The Black Phone / int_ba72eebb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_ba72eebb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_ba72eebb
The Black Phone / int_c2fc1ae	type	Neck Snap
The Black Phone / int_c2fc1ae	comment	Neck Snap: The Grabber ends up killed courtesy of one of these with a phone receiver cord used as an improvised garrotte.
The Black Phone / int_c2fc1ae	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_c2fc1ae	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_c2fc1ae
The Black Phone / int_c3c18143	type	Hope Spot
The Black Phone / int_c3c18143	comment	Hope Spot: Unlike all of the previous victims Finney not only gets out of the basement, but actually manages to escape the house entirely while the Grabber is sleeping and then proceeds to run down the street screaming for help. Unfortunately, the Grabber catches up to him at the last possible second halfway down the block and holds him at knifepoint until the neighbors awoken by his screams go back to sleep.
The Black Phone / int_c3c18143	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_c3c18143	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_c3c18143
The Black Phone / int_c4db6423	type	Yank the Dog's Chain
The Black Phone / int_c4db6423	comment	Yank the Dog's Chain: Finney manages to escape the house halfway through the film only for the Grabber to catch him again before he get can get anyone's attention.
The Black Phone / int_c4db6423	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_c4db6423	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_c4db6423
The Black Phone / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
The Black Phone / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: During one of Gwen's dreams, The Grabber suddenly materializes holding a bunch of balloons, much like Pennywise.
The Black Phone / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_c75df49a
The Black Phone / int_ca967579	type	Torture Cellar
The Black Phone / int_ca967579	comment	Torture Cellar: Finney spends most of the movie locked up in the Grabber's basement, where he's already tortured and murdered several children.
The Black Phone / int_ca967579	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_ca967579	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_ca967579
The Black Phone / int_cdfe12c3	type	Nothing Is Scarier
The Black Phone / int_cdfe12c3	comment	Nothing Is Scarier: The Grabber, as the film reveals almost nothing about his past or the reasons for kidnapping and murdering preteen and teenaged boys by playing the "naughty boys" game.
The Black Phone / int_cdfe12c3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_cdfe12c3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_cdfe12c3
The Black Phone / int_cf9b131f	type	Muscles Are Meaningless
The Black Phone / int_cf9b131f	comment	Muscles Are Meaningless: Even after days of imprisonment, implied malnourishment, and some accumulated injuries, Finney is still capable of hammering a hole through a wall using a toilet tank lid, and snaps the Grabber's neck with a telephone receiver cord at the end of the movie.
The Black Phone / int_cf9b131f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_cf9b131f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_cf9b131f
The Black Phone / int_d07e8fde	type	Ghost Amnesia
The Black Phone / int_d07e8fde	comment	Ghost Amnesia: The ghosts struggle to remember their names, only recalling fragmented details from their past.
The Black Phone / int_d07e8fde	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_d07e8fde	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_d07e8fde
The Black Phone / int_d2c0e2ed	type	Schmuck Bait
The Black Phone / int_d2c0e2ed	comment	Schmuck Bait: The Grabber leaves the door of his basement unlocked every night to tempt his captives into attempting to flee. As Billy warns Finney, it's a trap and he's waiting at the top of the stairs to beat him with a belt for trying.
The Black Phone / int_d2c0e2ed	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_d2c0e2ed	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_d2c0e2ed
The Black Phone / int_d2ccb43e	type	Delicious Distraction
The Black Phone / int_d2ccb43e	comment	Delicious Distraction: The Angry Guard Dog is distracted by a steak Finn takes out of the freezer.
The Black Phone / int_d2ccb43e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_d2ccb43e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_d2ccb43e
The Black Phone / int_dc2c2968	type	Superpowerful Genetics
The Black Phone / int_dc2c2968	comment	Superpowerful Genetics: Psychic powers appear to be hereditary, as Finney and Gwen's mother is described as having experienced dream visions like Gwen, while Finney's ability to hear the ghosts' messages via the phone is implied to have a connection to these abilities (as one of the ghosts mention that the phone rang for the previous victims, but they never heard it).
The Black Phone / int_dc2c2968	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_dc2c2968	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_dc2c2968
The Black Phone / int_df7137e7	type	Barbaric Bully
The Black Phone / int_df7137e7	comment	Barbaric Bully: Buzz, Matty and Matt are a trio of bullies who target Finney. As soon as the Grabber removes Robin from the picture they jump Finney and beat the shit out of him 3 on 1 for absolutely no reason.
The Black Phone / int_df7137e7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_df7137e7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_df7137e7
The Black Phone / int_e384c244	type	Phone Call from the Dead
The Black Phone / int_e384c244	comment	Phone Call from the Dead: The titular phone that allows the main character to communicate with the killer's victims.
The Black Phone / int_e384c244	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_e384c244	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_e384c244
The Black Phone / int_ec7c50af	type	Psychic Children
The Black Phone / int_ec7c50af	comment	Psychic Children: Gwen experiences dreams about the Grabber's victims and the location of his house.
The Black Phone / int_ec7c50af	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_ec7c50af	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_ec7c50af
The Black Phone / int_f91d1d4f	type	Darkest Hour
The Black Phone / int_f91d1d4f	comment	Darkest Hour: Finney manages to dig through the wall into the back of the freezer only to find it locked from the outside just like the room is. This is the final setback that completely defeats Finney and causes him to break down in tears for the first time in the film. Minutes later he gets a phone call from the ghost of his friend Robin which gives him the Heroic Second Wind he needs to make one last attempt at freedom.
The Black Phone / int_f91d1d4f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_f91d1d4f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_f91d1d4f
The Black Phone / int_fccd06b6	type	Beware the Nice Ones
The Black Phone / int_fccd06b6	comment	Beware the Nice Ones: Finney is notably more mild-mannered and less physically aggressive than many of the Grabber's previous victims. The Grabber quickly begins to realize that this does not mean that Finney will not fight to kill if he feels he has to.
The Black Phone / int_fccd06b6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_fccd06b6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_fccd06b6
The Black Phone / int_name	type	ItemName
The Black Phone / int_name	comment
The Black Phone / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Phone / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Phone	hasFeature	The Black Phone / int_name
The Black Phone / int_name	itemName	The Black Phone

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Black Phone	hasFeature	Balloon of Doom / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Corporal Punishment / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Deliberate Values Dissonance / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off! / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Films of the 2020s / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Logo Joke / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Phone Call from the Dead / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Psychic Children / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Stimulant Speedtalk / int_7be182c6
The Black Phone	hasFeature	Supernatural Fiction / int_7be182c6

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