The Black Phone (2021)

Checked this one out. Blumhouse, for me, is pretty hit and miss but this was definitely a hit! Such a good and (mostly) unique thriller / horror film. The story was excellent, the pacing was great, and Ethan Hawke was a great bad guy.

The story is about an area of Denver in 1978 that has a series of kidnappings of young boys. They get taken by 'The Grabber', played by Hawke. From there they are put into a sound proof basement and who knows what happens from there. This focuses on a boy named Finney who is the most recent kidnapped boy and his experience of going through it. There are some really cool things that happen along the way.

I liken this film to a mix of The Shining, It, and Stranger Things. It has a supernatural type of element to it but not in the traditional way. I love how things continue to build over the course of the film for a solid payout.

My only complaint is that they made the dad an asshat for no real purpose. His character would have worked being a normal guy just as easily. I really can't say too much more about this one without giving away some of the 'cool' factor so I'll leave it here.

Yes, I'd recommend this one with no problems.