Part of what has made horror films such a staple in cinema is how they can take true horror and meld it with the horrors of fiction to create something totally new. Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone is a perfect example of this, as it borrows from the real terrors of child abduction and adds a supernatural twist that connects to horror's roots. However, the new trailer has also revealed some surprising yet subtle connections to Stephen King's It that took on a meta approach.
The Black Phone's newest trailer follows a young boy taken by a man who claims to be a magician, played by Ethan Hawke. But the trailer quickly transitioned to reveal that Hawke's character is actually a child abductor and murderer who wears strange masks that carry a grim smile. Although all hope seems lost, a black phone with a cut wire starts to ring, and the other line has the spirits of the children he killed, telling the young boy they'll help him escape.
In It, the main antagonist, Pennywise, operated similarly to Ethan Hawke's character in that they both preyed on children and killed them. To mirror this, the trailer showed brief glimpses of Hawke's character, dubbed The Grabber, holding a bunch of balloons, similar to how Pennywise has in the past. But where Pennywise's were red, The Grabber's are black, implying he isn't trying to win any of the children over to trap them. Both stories are also set in an earlier decade, with It being set in the '50s in the book and the '80s in the film remake and The Black Phone set in the '70s.
The most on-the-nose connection to Pennywise could be seen with the main character's sister, who shares psychic visions of where her brother is being held. As she tries to find her way to him, she bikes in the rain wearing a yellow raincoat. This same raincoat is also donned by Georgie in the opening of It when Pennywise kills him in the rain. While it may seem like yet another cinematic nod to King's genre-defining works, the connection between The Black Phone and Pennywise is far more familial.
King's son, Joe Hill, has made a name for himself as a horror writer with projects including Locke and Key and NOS4A2. As both a skilled writer of novels and scripts, The Black Phone is yet another addition to his growing resume of horror projects. As a result, the nods to It felt more like a meta nod to King's legacy of horror than an acknowledgment of his works, like other films have done. It's a unique take that hasn't happened often in movies, and a movie like The Black Phone perfectly showcases how King's brand of horror has served as a foundation for his son's similar yet different style.
Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone could be the movie to bring slow burn horror back into the spotlight. As a mystery with supernatural elements, the scares could better resonate with the audience as they root for the child who'll try his best to escape. But while being wrapped in the story, the film will also offer nods to an icon of horror, like Stephen King, in a movie his son has penned. The meta subtext promises classic scares for a new audience that could hopefully propel Joe Hill to similar levels of iconography that his father has.
The Black Phone hits theaters on June 24.