Horror, Thriller  •  2022  •  103 min  •  Adults (18+)

The Black Phone (2022)

The Black Phone poster

The Black Phone (2022)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Traditional
Political: Leans Right
Diversity: Low
Christianity: Positive

Viewer Rating
7.3

Overview

Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.


Starring Cast

Mason Thames  •   Madeleine McGraw  •   Ethan Hawke


Where to watch

Netflix logoNetflix
Apple TV logoApple TV
Google Play logoGoogle Play
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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Traditional

Primary

Political: Leans Right
Confidence: Medium

The film's primary focus on individual resilience, the strength of familial bonds, and the necessity of personal action (including self-defense and a form of vigilante justice) in the face of a predatory threat and institutional shortcomings, aligns with right-leaning values.

Diversity: Low
Confidence: Medium

The movie features traditional casting without explicit race or gender swaps of established roles. Its narrative focuses on individual characters and horror elements, rather than offering a critique of traditional identities or centering on explicit DEI themes.

Secondary

Christianity: Positive
Confidence: High

The film portrays Christianity positively through Gwen's character, whose prayers and 'God-given' psychic visions are depicted as genuine and instrumental in saving her brother. The narrative validates her faith as a source of strength and divine intervention.

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High

The Black Phone does not feature any explicit LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative centers on a child abductor and the supernatural efforts to escape him, with no discernible queer representation or subtext present in the story.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

The film "The Black Phone" does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The narrative focuses on a child abductor and the supernatural experiences of his victims and their families, with no elements related to transgender identity.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film "The Black Phone" is an adaptation of Joe Hill's short story. All major characters, including Finney, Gwen, and The Grabber, maintain the same gender as established in the original source material. No characters canonically or historically established as one gender are portrayed as a different gender in the film.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film adapts a short story where character races were not explicitly defined for all roles. The casting choices for characters like Robin Arellano and Bruce Yamada align with the implied ethnicity of their names, rather than changing an established race from the source material. No race swaps occurred.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

7.3

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
6.9
The Movie Database logo
7.5

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
8.1
Metacritic logo
6.5

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