""Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" sounds like a quote made up by someone who wanted a pass for light plagiarism, but there's still some truth to it. In horror, a genre that's always building on itself, homage is par for the course. While that sometimes means lazy pastiche and shameless rip-offs, there are canonical classics like Scream and Get Out that expand on and deepen the films they borrow from."
"The first Black Phone, based on a Joe Hill short story of the same name, had a fairly original conceit if arguably lackluster execution: After Finney (Mason Thames) is kidnapped by a serial child killer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), he begins receiving calls from the spirits of the Grabber's previous victims, who help Finney fight back and escape."
Horror frequently builds on its past through homage, which can produce innovative expansions or lazy pastiche. Classics like Scream and Get Out demonstrate successful engagement with earlier films while advancing the genre. Black Phone 2 repeatedly borrows from established horror tropes and franchises, resulting in a watered-down version of ideas executed better in earlier films. The original Black Phone, adapted from a Joe Hill short, centered on Finney receiving calls from the spirits of the Grabber's victims to fight back and escape. The sequel abandons much of Hill's material by granting the Grabber dream-invasion powers that target Finney's sister, echoing Freddy Krueger.
Read at Vulture
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