The Black Phone takes a while to get going but once it does it delivers plenty of tense moments without a complete reliance on jump scares with a consistently unsettling atmosphere and lots of satisfying moments of set up and pay off. Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are both terrific, carrying a lot of the film on their shoulders and ably rising to the task. Ethan Hakwe is really terrifying as the grabber, able to convey a lot despite being hidden under the mask for a most part. Scott Derrickson's direction is amazing, the film is constantly mobile to cleverly contrast the confined environment with plenty of 70s style. The music by Mark Korven is excellent, beautifully haunting and era appropriate. There's also a few solid needle drops.

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