The director of Doctor Strange and Sinister works fairly well to enliven a grim story, expanded from the original short one by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King) entitled The Grabber.
The Black Phone has the ability to keep the on-looker in its grasp from a 1970s Denver setting, touching on bullying and a mysterious, eponymous rotary device.
Director Scott Derrickson reunites with his Sinister star Ethan Hawke as from a van and a clown disguise with edgy, occasional intense, even wry results. Some may call to mind elements of more highly-budgeted It.