What I Watched in July 2022

THE BLACK PHONE (2022) is a very well done variation on a type of story most horror fans have seen before. Primarily about a late 1970’s small town serial killer fixated on young boys the film is smarter than the average tale of this type. The focus is on one young lad named Finney who is taken by The Grabber (as he is called by the local media) and locked in a basement cell. The masked villain is not motivated by sexual frustrations and once his victim is awake doesn’t even come close enough to touch him. We watch as the boy attempts to escape and learns that the black telephone on the wall seems to be a conduit for the spiritual remains of past residents of this makeshift prison.

While the film is based on a short story by Joe Hill director Scott Derrickson relies on the strength of his cast for what is needed to get the job done and they are up to the task. Ethan Hawke, hidden mostly behind a series of masks, vacillates between eerily friendly and creepily threatening relying on his voice to communicate the strange nuances of his mysterious character. The young actor at the center of the story named Mason Thames convincingly carries the heavy emotional weight of the terror and desperation of the situation. He is excellent as he comes to terms with his position and finds the strength to fight. Also, the young actress Madeleine McGraw is a real stand out Finney’s slightly psychic sister trying her best to force her unreliable ability to help the police. The character is angry about her family’s broken nature which comes out in bursts of harsh profanity directed at ineffective adults and McGraw plays the often conflicting emotions effectively.

It's good to have Derrickson back in the horror genre where he excels.

THE LIST

TAFFIN (1988) – 6 (rewatch) (Brosnan’s Irish crime thriller)

CAVALRY SCOUT (1951) – 6 (color Monogram western)

SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH (1943) – 6 (rewatch)

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949) – 8 (excellent musical with Kelly, Sinatra and Esther Williams)

SANTO IN THE ANONYMOUS DEATH THREAT (1975) - 6 (Santo vs Nazis!)

THE ADVENTURES OF GERARD (1970) – 4 (failed attempt – needed a different director)

SKY MURDER (1940) – 6 (solid Nick Carter mystery)

TEXAS LAWMAN (1951) – 6 (Johnny Mack Brown B-western)

THE SEX OF ANGELS (1968) – 6

THE MASTER (2012) - 8

THE MYSTERIOUS DR. FU MANCHU (1929) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

THE RETURN OF DR. FU MANCHU (1930) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

MONTANA (1950) – 6 (Flynn sheep vs cow western) (rewatch)

THE NIGHT OF THE DAMNED (1971) – 7 (gothic mystery)

FLAT TWO (1962) – 7 (Edgar Wallace adaptation)

HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND (1960) – 5 (rewatch on Blu)

THE BOB’S BURGERS MOVIE (2022) – 8

THE SHE-CREATURE (1956) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

YOUNG, VIOLENT AND DANGEROUS (1976) – 7 (rewatch)

OKLAHOMA JUSTICE (1951) – 6  (Johnny Mack Brown B-western)

THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID (1962) – 7 (gangster krimi)

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (2022) – 7

SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER (1970) – 7 (rewatch)

THE GREEN ARCHER (1961) – 6 (rewatch)

TOMORROW AT SEVEN (1933) – 6 (pre-code ‘crime in an old dark house’ w/Chester Morris)

THE BLACK PHONE (2022) – 7

THE MAN FROM PLANET X (1951) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP (1976) – 7

HEROIN BUSTERS (1977) – 7 (rewatch)

LIBIDO (1965) – 7

MARDI GRAS MASSACRE (1978) – 3 (terrible but fascinating)

A PLACE CALLED GLORY (1965) – 7 (German/Spanish western w/Brice and Barker)

THE VAULT (2021) – 7 (Spanish heist film)