Ethan Hawke's 'The Black Phone' promises fresh scares with new trailer

Marvel at the creeping horror from 'Doctor Strange' director Scott Derrickson.
 By 
Adam Rosenberg
 on 
A human form stands in shadow, silhouetted by a faint light from an indistinct source. The person appears to be wearing some kind of mask over their face.
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Don't lose sight of that title: The Black Phone.

This trailer for Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson's upcoming horror flick shows us more of Ethan Hawke's masked menace. Adapted by Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill from a Joe Hill short story, The Black Phone follows a serial killer who has a predilection for abducting teens and imprisoning them in a filthy room, where the only item of interest is a non-functional phone set into the wall. It's not entirely non-functional, however.

The killer's latest victim, Finney Shaw (Mason Thames), learns this firsthand when — as this new trailer suggests — he begins to commune with the spirits of former victims. By the look of things here, those spirits are willing helpers who want to see Finney escape. On the outside, we also see how Finney's sister Gwen (Madeleine McGaw) is experiencing similarly supernatural occurrences.

What does it all mean? Why is that phone so important? A good trailer gives you a sense of what's going on without answering any truly key questions. I walked away feeling like this is absolutely a good trailer. All questions will be answered soon enough, though.

The Black Phone arrives in theaters on June 24.

Topics Film

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Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.


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