Black Phone 2 First Reactions: Blumhouse Hit or Total Dial Tone?

Blumhouse does not leave money on the table. After The Black Phone crushed in 2021, the studio fast-tracked a sequel, and now Black Phone 2 has premiered at Fantastic Fest. The early word out of Austin is... surprisingly loud. Not just good-for-a-sequel loud. Some folks are calling it a full-on upgrade.

Quick refresher: why this sequel happened

The first Black Phone was a classic Blumhouse play: cheap, creepy, and wildly profitable. It cost under $18 million, made about $90 million in the U.S. and another $71 million overseas, and landed well with critics. So yeah, a follow-up was inevitable.

The Fantastic Fest buzz

"The Black Phone 2 shattered my expectations. Imagine Sinister colliding with Nightmare on Elm Street - pure nightmare fuel. The Grabber is officially the new face of Blumhouse. Terrifying, thrilling, and relentless. Mason Thames is great, but Madeleine McGraw steals the whole movie."

That was one of several reactions posted right after the Fantastic Fest premiere on September 21, 2025, and the general vibe held steady across the board. Here is the gist of what people on the ground are saying, in one place:

• Germain Lussier says the sequel is not just good, but great, leaning into everything that worked the first time: more Gwen, more gore, and a vibe that plays like Elm Street meets Stranger Things, with some heart and humor baked in.
• Perri Nemiroff digs that it continues the story but still feels like its own thing. She credits Scott Derrickson and team for keeping it connected to the original while giving it a clear, fresh identity.
• According to Seth, the movie is relentless and scary, with The Grabber staking his claim as Blumhouse's next signature boogeyman. He calls out Mason Thames as strong, but says Madeleine McGraw straight-up steals it.
• Junior Felix calls it one of the best horror sequels in years, saying Derrickson puts you through an emotional wringer while Ethan Hawke somehow makes The Grabber even nastier than he was in round one.

So what is Black Phone 2 actually about?

Ethan Hawke is back as The Grabber, and this time he is not just lingering in memories. He is coming after Finn from beyond the grave by targeting Finn's younger sister, Gwen. Finn is 17 now and not exactly thriving after what he went through. Gwen, 15 and stubborn in the best way, starts getting phone calls in her dreams via that cursed black phone and seeing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp called Alpine Lake.

Gwen decides enough is enough and talks Finn into heading to the camp during a snowstorm. Once they get there, she uncovers a nasty family connection to The Grabber that reframes everything they thought they knew. The kicker: The Grabber has only gotten stronger since he died, and the hold he has on both of them runs deeper than they realize. It is a rescue mission, a haunting, and a reckoning rolled into one.

Blumhouse has a new mask to market

Between this reception and the way people are already talking about The Grabber, Blumhouse looks like it has another marquee monster on its hands. Pair him with M3GAN and they have two crowd-pleasers their audience can latch onto. Also, you can practically see the Halloween Horror Nights maze already. That cross-promo machine is purring.

Release date, and what else is coming

Black Phone 2 hits theaters on October 17. And because Blumhouse likes to stack the calendar, they are also closing out 2025 with Five Nights at Freddy's 2.