50 Fun Facts About The Black Phone

Who directed The Black Phone?

He co-wrote it with C. Robert Cargill, his partner from Sinister, after quitting the Doctor Strange sequel over creative differences.

The film is based on a 2004 short story by which author?

He is Stephen King's son, writing under a shortened form of his middle name Hillström so he could succeed on his own merits.

In which short-story collection did 'The Black Phone' first appear?

The collection was reissued under the title The Black Phone in December 2021 as a lead-in to the film.

Which actor plays the masked child-killer known as the Grabber?

He was wary of villain roles for fear of typecasting, but the mask idea and his Sinister experience with Derrickson won him over.

Who plays Finney Blake, in his film debut?

He was found only after months of agency searches and an open call, and impressed with his ability to emote and take direction.

Which actress plays Finney's psychic younger sister Gwen?

Filming was pushed back months so she could finish Disney's Secrets of Sulphur Springs first.

In which year and city is the film set?

Derrickson grew up in suburban Denver and drew on the everyday violence of his working-class neighbourhood.

How did Finney and Gwen's mother die?

Black Phone 2 later reveals the Grabber killed her and staged it to look self-inflicted.

Which friend of Finney's fends off the school bullies before being abducted himself?

His final call from the phone tells Finney to fight back by packing the receiver with dirt.

What is the first ghost caller Bruce's advice to Finney?

The foundations prove too deep, but the pit he digs becomes the trap that finishes the Grabber.

When the Grabber leaves the basement door unlocked, what does Billy warn is really happening?

It is part of the killer's 'naughty boy' game; Billy suggests the hidden cable to the window instead.

What is the name of the eccentric man the detectives question, who turns out to be living in the Grabber's house?

James Ransone plays the brother who finally realises the truth and dies by axe for it.

What is the name of the Grabber's dog, whose barking foils one escape?

Finney later distracts him with a steak from the freezer on his way out.

Which ghost caller, a juvenile delinquent, tells Finney to break through to a freezer?

The freezer door is locked, but the debris from that attempt goes into Finney's final trap.

How does Finney finally kill the Grabber?

First he traps him in the pit and beats him with the dirt-packed receiver while the ghosts of past victims taunt the killer.

Where does the Grabber's house turn out to be, relative to the house the police raid?

Gwen's vision sent the police to the house where the bodies were buried; the killer had been holding Finney a few yards away.

What does Finney tell his crush she can call him in the final scene?

Now regarded as a hero at school, he takes the seat next to her with new confidence.

Which production company, run by Jason Blum, made the film with Derrickson and Cargill?

Universal handled distribution, and part of the budget came from a North Carolina tax credit.

Which Marvel film did Derrickson leave before returning to The Black Phone?

He had directed the first Doctor Strange; Sam Raimi took over the sequel.

Which two films did Derrickson study for their portrayal of resilience among children?

He was also processing his own childhood trauma in therapy when the semi-autobiographical idea took shape.

In which North Carolina city was the film shot in early 2021?

EUE/Screen Gems' local studio housed the basement sets, and the shoot ran under a fake title.

Under what fake working title did the production shoot?

The real title stayed under wraps while filming ran from 9 February to 27 March 2021.

Roughly what was the film's production budget?

A $4.7 million transferable North Carolina tax credit covered part of it, and the film went on to gross nearly ten times that.

In what film format were Gwen's dream sequences shot?

It is a Derrickson signature; the crew used Bolex cameras and Kodak Vision3 stocks.

Cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz had just finished which 2022 horror film when he got the script?

Derrickson had also admired his work on the satirical horror Ready or Not.

Which special-effects legend co-founded the studio that built the Grabber's masks?

His Pittsburgh studio Callosum, run with Jason Baker, made up to 30 masks from life casts taken in Hawke's New York home office.

What did Derrickson add to the original script's pair of smiling and frowning devil masks?

He wanted part of Hawke's face visible at times; the three pieces echo the tragic and comic masks of Greek theatre.

Which 1928 silent film's grinning character was a reference for the masks?

Conrad Veidt's Gwynplaine also inspired the Joker; Mr. Sardonicus and antique dolls were other references.

Who composed the synthesizer-heavy score?

He built the Grabber's motifs from abrasive strings and the friction of mallets rubbed on rough surfaces.

At which festival did the film premiere in September 2021?

The sequel premiered at the same Austin festival four years later.

What was the tagline on the theatrical poster?

Universal's marketing sold the experience rather than the stars, opening with a CinemaCon teaser in 2021.

How much did The Black Phone gross worldwide?

About $90 million came from the US and Canada, and the producers and Universal netted an estimated $67.8 million profit.

Which country was the film's biggest overseas opening market, with one of its largest-ever horror debuts?

Saudi Arabia was another surprise, contributing $700,000 of the Middle East's opening haul.

The canonical short 'Dreamkill', about Gwen's cousin Gunther, appears in which anthology film?

It is set seven years after the film and stars Dashiell Derrickson, the director's son.

The Grabber became a playable character in which video game during 2025's Halloween event?

He joined on 16 October 2025, the day before Black Phone 2 hit US cinemas.

In which year is Black Phone 2 set?

Four years after the first film, Gwen starts dreaming about murders at a camp in 1957.

To what kind of place do Finney, Gwen and Ernesto travel in the sequel?

A blizzard traps them at Alpine Lake with owner Armando, his niece Mustang and two employees.

Ernesto in Black Phone 2 is played by Miguel Mora, who played which character in the first film?

Ernesto is written as that character's brother, so the actor is playing his own sibling.

Which Oscar-nominated Mexican actor joined the sequel as camp owner Armando?

His character turns out to have known both the Grabber and the Blakes' mother at the camp long ago.

Beneath which frozen body of water are the Grabber's earliest victims found in the sequel?

Finding them strips the Grabber of his power over the dream realm and he is dragged beneath the ice.

What was the working title used while shooting Black Phone 2 in Ontario?

Filming ran from November 2024 to January 2025 in Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton.

Who composed the score for Black Phone 2?

The soundtrack also features the lostwave mystery song 'Subways of Your Mind' by FEX and Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall'.

Which film did Black Phone 2 dethrone at the top of the US box office in October 2025?

It opened with $27.3 million and went on to about $132 million worldwide on a $30 million budget.

How old is Finney in the original short story?

In the story, as in the film, the disconnected phone rings at night with the whispers of the dead victims.

The story's author is the son of which two novelists?

He confirmed his parentage publicly only in 2007, after a decade of writing under his shortened middle name.

Which actor plays Terrence, Finney and Gwen's abusive, alcoholic father?

Davies returned for Black Phone 2, in which the Grabber reveals he killed Terrence's wife Hope and staged it as suicide.

On which earlier Derrickson film had Ethan Hawke and James Ransone both previously worked with the director?

Hawke was reluctant to play villains for fear of typecasting, but the director sent him the script because of their rapport.

What type of cameras were used to shoot Gwen's Super 8 dream sequences?

Cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz said he initially struggled to reacquaint himself with the old filmmaking methods.

Where did the 1957 murders Gwen sees in her dreams in Black Phone 2 take place?

Demián Bichir plays Armando, the camp's owner, and his niece Mustang is played by Arianna Rivas.

Roughly how much did Black Phone 2 gross worldwide?

Made for $30 million, it opened to $27.3 million domestically; audiences gave it a CinemaScore of B, below the original's B+.