Esteemed director Scott Derrickson’s latest horror venture, The Black Phone, has arrived in theaters. Having achieved an 85 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it appears that Derrickson hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to captivating thrillers. Ethan Hawke stars as a serial child abductor named “The Grabber” who targets a 13-year-old named Finney in Blumhouse’s The Black Phone. While trapped in a soundproof basement, Finney discovers a disconnected wall-hanging phone that he uses to call the other abductees. On the heels of several other horror films, Derrickson joins forces with C. Robert Cargill and Jason Blum to produce this feature-film adaptation of Joe Hill’s 2004 short story of the same name. Derrickson tells ScreenRant that The Black Phone is the only film of his that he can’t get enough of — and audiences clearly agree.
Derrickson made his feature-film debut after he co-wrote and directed The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), which was loosely based on the experiences of Anneliese Michel, who underwent 67 Catholic exorcisms. The film won the 2005 Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film and led to Derrickson’s first team-up with producer Jason Blum for Sinister (2012). Ethan Hawke, who stars in the lead role for The Black Phone, met Scott Derrickson for the first time on the set of Sinister as the main character, Ellison Oswalt, a true crime writer who discovers some disturbing tapes showing the graphic and brutal killings of several families who previously owned his house.
Two years later, Derrickson directed Deliver Us from Evil (2014), which was based on the 2001 non-fiction book Beware the Night by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool. After several successful projects, Scott Derrickson began to make a name for himself within the horror-thriller genre. The Black Phone has garnered over $3M already at the box office on its opening day, and its renowned director has expressed great pride in the child abduction thriller.
It’s my favorite of the films I’ve made, I think. It’s certainly the only film I’ve ever made that I haven’t gotten sick of watching at this point.
In 2016, Derrickson departed from horror to pursue a career as a Marvel director with Doctor Strange (2016). The film, which was a commercial and critical success, produced a sequel titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that released in May 2022. Although Derrickson was initially on board to direct the sequel, he stepped aside in 2020 due to creative differences, and Sam Raimi stepped in to take over. However, he remained involved as an executive producer. After passing the baton on Multiverse of Madness, Derrickson refocused his efforts on The Black Phone, which had been in production for several years prior. Obviously, it’s too soon to call anything yet, but The Black Phone appears to be a big hit, so it looks like all the hard work paid off.
The Black Phone is currently showing in theaters.