On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.

Starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott, Blue Moon is coming to cinemas January 29.
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One of the genres of movies that have always had the most derivative sequels are horror films. With the success of The Black Phone back in 2021, a return to that world was inevitable, and now that follow-up has arrived. With an actor of Ethan Hawke‘s calibre still attached to the series, one would hope for something of quality. 

In a somewhat surprising move, the focus this time has been shifted from the now-teenage brother Finney (Mason Thames) to the sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). They take full advantage of McGraw’s pluck and give her some great comeback lines. They are ribald and very funny.

This shift brings the world of The Black Phone back to life with a fresh feel amid the new horrors. Having Hawke return as The Grabber is also intact, but the story focuses more on Gwen and her family. The story evolves out of the dreams that Gwen has and the revelations they bring.

Mixing humour and horror has always been a stock in trade for fright films, and it’s used to full advantage here. The laughs are frequent and relax you nicely before the horror puts you back on the edge of your seat. And in a break from tradition at the film’s end, there is a lovely coda that doesn’t feel like an ad for part 3.
Rob Hudson
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Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again.

Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

From returning visionary writer-director Scott Derrickson, Black Phone 2 is written again by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on characters created by Joe Hill. The film is produced by Jason Blum, Derrickson and Cargill. The executive producers are Joe Hill, Adam Hendricks and Ryan Turek.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece, Miguel Mora (The Black Phone) as the brother of one of The Grabber’s victims, and Jeremy Davies, returning as Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence. Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven).

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s horror phenomenon The Black Phone, released in 2022,received widespread critical acclaim and earned more than $160 million worldwide.

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Four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

From returning visionary writer-director Scott Derrickson, Black Phone 2 is written again by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on characters created by Joe Hill. The film is produced by Jason Blum, Derrickson and Cargill. The executive producers are Joe Hill, Adam Hendricks and Ryan Turek.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Demián Bichir (The Nun, A Better Life) as the supervisor of the camp, Arianna Rivas (A Working Man) as his niece, Miguel Mora (The Black Phone) as the brother of one of The Grabber’s victims, and Jeremy Davies, returning as Finn and Gwen’s father, Terrence. Other new cast members include Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid) and Graham Abbey (Under the Banner of Heaven).

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s horror phenomenon The Black Phone, released in 2022,received widespread critical acclaim and earned more than $160 million worldwide.
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Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with a new horror thriller.

Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Starring four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career and introducing Mason Thames in his first ever film role, The Black Phone is produced, directed, and co-written by Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

The film’s screenplay is by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange, Sinister franchise), based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill from his New York Times bestseller 20th Century Ghosts. The film is produced by Derrickson & Cargill’s Crooked Highway and presented by Universal and Blumhouse. Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill are producers on the film, which is executive produced by Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner.

The Black Phone will be released in Aussie cinemas June 30!
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Fast forward a number of years and the ensuing time has not been kind to the adult Prince. His body shows the hard life of a marauding warrior and his mind is still crowded with thoughts of revenge. Even meeting a hot blonde, Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor-Joy) does little to mellow out his ways.

He discovers the location of his uncle, Fjölnir the Brotherless (Claes Bang) and continues his unwavering direction of vengeance. This time taking Olga along for the ride. It’s all epic alpha male posturing and the women including Nicole Kidman as mother Queen Gudrún are given minor roles.

Beautiful but dimly lit throughout and often times spoken in native tongues (with subtitles) it takes substantial effort on your part to remain engaged. The magic elements lead to a number of striking scenes and this raises the visual experience. It’s a film best seen on the biggest and brightest screen you can find and rewards those with a taste for a good revenge yarn.

Rob Hudson
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An action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder.

With an all-star cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.

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Starring four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career and introducing Mason Thames in his first ever film role, The Black Phone is produced, directed, and co-written by Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

The film’s screenplay is by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange, Sinister franchise), based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill from his New York Times bestseller 20th Century Ghosts. The film is produced by Derrickson & Cargill’s Crooked Highway and presented by Universal and Blumhouse. Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill are producers on the film, which is executive produced by Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner.

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When the film starts, we catch up with six year-old Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his family, sister Samantha (Linklater’s real-life daughter Lorelei Linklater) and mom and pop (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke). What follows is a coming of age tale that touches on many elements of the modern day life, single parenthood, sibling rivalry and just trying to figure out this crazy thing called life.

The concept is interesting but it’s the performances that make this film transcendent. Coltrane is amazing as both child actor and one becoming a self-aware young adult. Arquette and Hawke are also very strong and their changing appearance with the natural ageing process adds a large degree of realism.

There are periods of Mason’s life that are more interesting than others and his questioning nature as he enters young adulthood comes across a little unintentionally funny but overall the kid is very cool. There is an authenticity and engaging nature at play here that is seldom found in popular entertainment. Finding those elements so strong in this film, make it one not to be missed.

Rob Hudson
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Pairing beloved Academy Award nominees Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche for the first time, as a celebrated actress and her estranged daughter whose tentative reunion offers an opportunity to either repair or irrevocably fracture their relationship.

The Truth will be released in Australian cinemas December 26.
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