Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone Is His Only Film He's Not Sick Of Yet

The Black Phone is the only one of Scott Derrickson’s films that he is not tired of watching yet. Derrickson’s new horror is set in 1978 and stars Ethan Hawke as a child serial killer called “The Grabber.” When one of the Grabber's young captives, Finney, starts receiving phone calls from the ghosts of the killer's past victims, The Grabber competes with Finney in a battle of wits as the youngster fights to outsmart him and save his own life, while The Grabber continues his nefarious torture. The Black Phone is based on the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill. 

This latest horror feature from Blumhouse is far from Derrickson’s first venture into the horror genre. The director’s first feature film was The Exorcism of Emily Rose back in 2005. He also produced and directed Sinister in 2012 (which also stars Hawke), as well as Deliver Us From Evil in 2014. In 2016, Derrickson gained even more recognition when he directed the MCU solo film Doctor Strange, and later served as a producer on more major projects such as its sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the acclaimed Snowpiercer TV series adaptation. Now, however, Derrickson returns to horror with The Black Phone. 

Unlike his past work, Derrickson says The Black Phone is the one film that he is not sick of re-watching. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, he cited The Black Phone as his “favorite of the films” that he has made. See the director's comments below:

Exclusive: "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.” 

Given Derrickson’s high-caliber film credits, self-citing The Black Phone as his best and "favorite" is saying a lot. With beloved horror films like Sinister, an MCU blockbuster like Doctor Strange, and a sci-fi classic like The Day the Earth Stood Still in his filmography, Derrickson has a solid library of work to choose from when citing his best films. What's more, Derrickson's confidence in The Black Phone certainly means a lot coming from a director and producer who is well-versed in the horror genre.

As The Black Phone reviews and reactions roll in, Hawke's performance as its terrifying villain is at the center of most of its praise. Now that the horror flick is out in theaters, however, it will be interesting to see whether Derrickson’s own love of his latest project aligns with the views of wider audiences. With such a complex and abhorrent figure at its center, only time will tell whether the public finds The Black Phone quite as re-watchable as Derrickson does.

Ethan Hawke Explains How The Black Phone Is Better Than Sinister

Ethan Hawke is feeling pretty confident that The Black Phone is better than Sinister and is sharing his thoughts on why. Hawke starred in the 2012 horror film as true-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt as he and his family move into a house with a collection of home videos depicting grisly murders that awakens a terrifying spirit. Sinister scored mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and largely positive reviews from audiences, becoming a major box office hit with over $87 million grossed against its $3 million budget.

Hawke and co-writer/director Scott Derrickson are reuniting for The Black Phone, an adaptation of Joe Hill's short story of the same name centered on a young boy kidnapped by a serial killer who begins communicating with his past victims in the hopes of escaping. Derrickson co-wrote the adaptation with his creative partner C. Robert Cargill, with the two putting their focus on the film after departing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness over creative differences with the studio. Following its acclaimed Fantastic Fest debut, The Black Phone is set to hit theaters this month.

Ahead of the film's release, Ethan Hawke caught up with SlashFilm to discuss The Black Phone. In looking at his prior collaboration with Scott Derrickson, Hawke felt that The Black Phone is better than Sinister thanks to Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's script and more "mature filmmaking." See what Hawke explained below:

"Making a good horror film is a lot like solving a geometry problem. There's a math to a building. It has to be simple enough, complicated enough. People write books about Hitchcock and the timing and the way the cuts work. There's just a math to it. Scott's a very elegant filmmaker. I feel like this script was even better than Sinister, and it's more mature filmmaking. He makes good movies. If you love acting, you want to be with serious filmmakers because it gives you a shot."

Anticipation has been high for The Black Phone since it was first announced that Hawke and Derrickson would be reuniting for the film after the success of Sinister. Despite its initial mixed reception, the film has enjoyed a major cult following in the decade since it hit theaters, holding the ranking of the scariest movie ever in a study. Sinister would ultimately find itself dethroned in the study by Shudder's 2020 screenlife horror pic Host, which holds a rare 100 percent approval rating from critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.

As Hawke references in his explanation, The Black Phone appears to have a number of elements in its favor when pitted against Sinister. Following its debut at Fantastic Fest, critics were much more favorable in early Black Phone reviews when compared to the 2012 horror film, praising the faithfulness to Hill's source novel, Derrickson's more matured direction and Hawke's menacing performance as The Grabber, leaving many hopeful that Hawke and Derrickson's reunion has made for a more terrifying outing. Only time will tell where audiences sit on comparing the two films when The Black Phone hits theaters on June 24.