When it comes to scary movies, most people think of films like “The Conjuring,” “Scream,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and others, but not many viewers stop to think about what makes a movie truly scary. 

According to studies, there are a number of things that make a movie scary. Some of the scariest horror movies mess with people’s phobias and fears. “The Black Phone 2,” directed by Scott Derrickson, includes many of these “scary” factors: jumpscares, suspenseful music, death, disfigurement and many more things.

Starting in the suburb town of North Denver, Colorado, in 1978, things became tense when boys slowly started going missing throughout the town. Eventually, viewers learn that a middle-aged man, called The Grabber, had been kidnapping, assaulting and murdering young boys in his basement. 

The Grabber, at a point in the first “Black Phone” movie, kidnapped Finney, the protagonist of the movie, a reserved but intelligent 13-year-old boy. While Finney is in the basement, he finds out about “the black phone,” a phone that allows past victims to communicate with the current victim in hopes that they will find a way to their freedom. 

By the end of the first movie, Finney becomes the first victim to survive and kill The Grabber with the help of

his sister, Gwen, who is a psychic. Finney’s life continues with immense trauma from the event. 

However, Gwen gets continuous visions of The Grabber after her brother kills him. The second movie begins with one of Gwen’s dreams where she sees her mother frantically calling someone on a black phone.

 “The Black Phone 2” features three young kids from a camp, who reveal clues about the Grabber’s origin. In Gwen’s dreams, these murdered kids appear with intense music and jumpscares, slowly revealing how they got killed by The Grabber.

During the second movie, the storyline keeps the spotlight on Gwen instead of Finney because The Grabber, while deceased and a ghost, is out to get the person Finney loves most. 

In the first movie, The Grabber’s put his own brother to death because he grew knowledgeable about The Grabber’s involvement and plans against Finney. Because of this, in the second movie, The Grabber is determined to terminate Gwen to get back at Finney.

When the first “Black Phone” movie was released, the audience loved it. However, with the rise of the second one, opinions have varied.

From critiquing the plot to the fear factor, feelings have been very diverse. While some viewers thought the movie had a great plot with good scares, others mention how it lost the suspense from the beginning and didn’t have as clear of a story. and lacked the frightfulness that the first movie had.

Critics note that “The Black Phone 2” had a bland storyline and a second movie was unneeded.  

A google review by Rah says, “The plot was so cliche and not as interesting, you could tell there wasn’t meant to be a second movie.”

Other watchers say that it kept them engaged throughout the entire film and ended up being amazing. 

A google review by Lily Harris says, “It keeps you hooked from start to finish with strong plotlines that pull you in and make you feel everything the characters are going through.”

Even with the predictable ending of the film, it was still quite scary because of the ominous ambience and unexpected jumpscares. But, when that faded, the plot became dull and unsurprising. It also lost the fear factor with weak jumpscares and intense moments.