The Black Phone’s Entire Story Explained (In Chronological Order)

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I was completely blown away when I first saw *The Black Phone*. It really surprised everyone with how well it did in theaters, managing to be both genuinely creepy with its supernatural elements and terrifyingly realistic in its portrayal of a serial killer. The story centers around Finney and his sister Gwen, played brilliantly by Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw. They’re up against this truly awful killer, known as The Grabber, and it’s heartbreaking to watch. Finney is trapped, trying to survive with the help of ghostly voices from The Grabber’s previous victims, and meanwhile, Gwen is desperately trying to find him, using her psychic abilities. It’s so stressful because their father, Terrence, doesn’t believe her and is incredibly dismissive, adding even more tension to the already frightening situation.

The new movie, *The Black Phone 2*, significantly builds upon the story introduced in the first film. It jumps between different time periods – the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s – to reveal more about the characters and the villain, known as the Grabber. We learn about Finney and Gwen’s mother, and how the Grabber first came to be. This sequel changes how we view the original film, showing it as just one part of a larger, ongoing story about psychic powers and lingering trauma. To fully understand the complete narrative, viewers need to connect events from all three time periods, including a haunted summer camp and the Grabber’s terrifying crimes.

Hope Adler, Alpine Lake, and the Grabber’s First Kills

The story of *The Black Phone* actually starts long before Finney receives that eerie phone call. Back in the winter of 1957, Hope Adler, who would later become Finney and Gwen’s mother, worked at a Christian youth camp called Alpine Lake in the Colorado mountains. Hope began having unsettling dreams about children trapped under the ice of the frozen lake. In these dreams, the children frantically scratched a seven-digit phone number onto the underside of the ice. Recognizing it as a local number, Hope used the camp’s black phone to call it, and surprisingly connected with her future daughter, Gwen. Though she didn’t know Gwen, Hope sensed the voice on the other end was also experiencing similar dreams. This call created a strong, psychic connection that would span generations in their family.

Hope works with a man at Alpine Lake called Wild Bill Hickok, named for the many tools he always carries on his belt, like a gunslinger. He will later become known as the Grabber, and Alpine Lake is where he begins his crimes. He murders three children at the camp—Felix, Cal, and Spike—and uses his access to the camp’s equipment to dispose of their bodies. He cuts a hole in the frozen lake and sinks the children in barrels, ensuring they’ll never be found. These are the same children who appear in Hope’s dreams, and because their bodies are never recovered, their spirits are trapped at Alpine Lake, slowly losing their memories.

In 1958, Alpine Lake closed permanently after three children vanished and police discovered burnt clothing belonging to one of them. Due to the frozen winter conditions, a thorough search of the lake wasn’t conducted, allowing the perpetrator to avoid suspicion and continue their crimes. The camp cook, Mando (Demián Bichir), stayed on the property, spending over ten years searching for the missing children’s bodies. Eventually, he saved enough money to purchase and reopen Alpine Lake, but never stopped looking for them.

Hope Finds the Truth About the Grabber

By 1977, Hope was married to Terrence and had two young children, Finney and Gwen. After years of being quiet, her psychic abilities suddenly returned, but this time they were frighteningly strong. She began having terrible dreams about Billy Showwater, a boy who had recently gone missing from their neighborhood. These visions led her to the home of the person holding Billy captive, and in the middle of the night, she confirmed her fears – Billy was being held in the basement. Unfortunately, she was seen spying by the captor, who followed her home and murdered her in the garage. He carefully made it look like she had taken her own life, and tragically, everyone – including her family – believed this false story.

The violent death of Hope deeply traumatizes the family and is the root cause of the tense atmosphere in the first film. Terrence, devastated by losing his wife, turns to alcohol. Even more impactful, he becomes terrified and bitter about psychic abilities, believing they led to Hope’s breakdown and death. This fear turns into abuse, especially towards Gwen, as he punishes her for showing similar psychic gifts.

Finney’s Ordeal in the Grabber’s Basement

The movie *The Black Phone* takes place in North Denver in 1978. For years, a child abductor known as “The Grabber” had been kidnapping young boys using his black van. When Finney’s friend, Robin, who always stood up for him, is taken, Finney is left feeling alone and scared. One day, while walking home from school, a black van pulls up beside him. A man pretending to be a magician steps out, drops some groceries, and starts talking to Finney, tricking him into getting closer. The man then releases black balloons as a distraction, sprays Finney with a chemical to knock him out, and throws him into the van. Finney wakes up in a basement that’s soundproof, with only a dirty mattress and an old, disconnected black phone. The kidnapper, wearing a scary devil mask, tells him the phone won’t work.

As Finney remains kidnapped, Gwen’s psychic dreams become more vivid. She has visions of the kidnapper and the black balloons, sharing these details with Detectives Wright and Miller. At first, they doubt her, but the accuracy of her information – details that haven’t been made public – eventually convinces them to listen. Meanwhile, Gwen suffers abuse from her father, who believes she’s making things up.

Down in the basement, an old black phone starts ringing. Each time it does, Finney hears from one of the Grabber’s past victims. First, Bruce Yamada tells him to dig under a loose floor tile. Then, other ghosts—Billy Showalter, Griffin Stagg, and Vance Hopper—call with more clues, revealing bits and pieces of escape attempts that didn’t work. Finney tries to follow their instructions, but he can’t seem to make it work.

One of the most compelling parts of *The Black Phone* for me was the subplot with the Grabber’s brother, Max, played by James Ransone. It’s fascinating watching him – he’s clearly struggling with addiction and is completely consumed by trying to figure out who’s kidnapping kids. He’s got this chaotic room filled with maps and pins, desperately trying to connect the dots, and the irony is, he’s unknowingly hunting his own brother! Ultimately, it’s Gwen’s visions that break the case. When she gives the police a house number, it’s broadcast on a scanner Max is listening to, and you can *see* the realization hit him – that the house they’re talking about is *his* house. It’s a genuinely chilling moment.

Max waited until his brother left, then went down to the basement. There, he found a frightened Finney and quietly asked if his brother was responsible for everything that had happened. As Finney nodded, confirming it was, their brother—the Grabber—surprisingly came home. He walked into the basement and saw Max. A tense silence hung in the air before the Grabber, furious at being discovered, silently grabbed a fire axe and violently attacked Max, killing him instantly.

Max’s murder leaves Finney completely isolated and facing certain death. The last ghost he speaks to, Robin, urges him to stop running and start fighting. Robin teaches him how to punch and, crucially, instructs him to fill the phone’s heavy receiver with dirt, creating a powerful weapon. Finney uses everything he’s learned from the ghosts to build a clever trap. Meanwhile, Gwen has a vision revealing the exact house where the Grabber buries his victims. She guides the police to the abandoned property, where they begin to unearth the bodies in the basement.

Just then, across the street, the Grabber went down to the basement, ready to kill Finney. Remembering what Robin had taught him, Finney hit the Grabber with the heavy, dirt-filled phone. While the Grabber was stunned, Finney yanked on a cord he’d placed on the floor, causing the Grabber to fall into the hole Bruce had told him to dig. The Grabber landed awkwardly, breaking his ankle on a metal grate. Finney quickly turned the tables, fiercely attacking the Grabber before wrapping the phone cord around his neck. As he choked his attacker, the black phone rang for the final time. Finney held it to the Grabber’s ear, forcing him to hear the voices of his previous victims as he died.

It was such a relief when Finney finally managed to distract the Grabber’s dog with some meat from the freezer and escape the house! Seeing him reunited with Gwen, who was understandably sobbing, was incredibly emotional. Then, their dad arrived, and the sight of him breaking down in tears and apologizing for everything… it was a powerful moment. The final scene, with Finney back at school, felt so earned. He wasn’t that scared kid anymore; he was a survivor, and it was amazing to see him walk with such confidence.

The Grabber Comes Back from the Grave

When Finney kills The Grabber, his soul is cast into hell, a place where everyone loses their sense of self, reduced to only their wrongdoings. But The Grabber was so consumed by evil that he remains aware of who he is, even in damnation. Fueled by a furious hatred for Finney – not just for being killed, but for being forced to kill his own brother – The Grabber manages to escape hell and return to Earth as a dangerous, vengeful spirit.

The Grabber feels compelled to return to Alpine Lake, where he committed his initial murders. This location has become a source of supernatural power for him because the spirits of his first three victims – Felix, Cal, and Spike – remain trapped there, as their bodies were never recovered. Their unfinished business fuels a dark energy that the Grabber has used to grow stronger over time. This increasing power starts to show itself through strange, paranormal events experienced by Mando and the crew restoring the camp, as the Grabber transforms the property into a haunted base while he plans his revenge.

Finney and Gwen Go to Alpine Lake in The Black Phone 2

Four years after the Grabber’s death, in 1982, Gwen is now an outcast at school, largely because people still whisper about her supposed psychic abilities. Despite being isolated, she begins a relationship with Ernesto (Miguel Mora), the brother of Robin Arellano, the boy who helped Finney even after he died. Ernesto is intrigued by Gwen after discovering she was the one who anonymously tipped off the police to where Robin’s body was found.

Finney is deeply troubled by what happened and hasn’t been able to heal. He’s become dependent on marijuana and frequently gets into fights with other teens who challenge him, knowing he killed a serial killer. He’s filled with anger and feels isolated, and he’s deliberately avoiding dealing with his emotions. To make things even more complicated, he’s still getting strange phone calls from ghosts needing help, but he ignores them, proving he’s inherited some of his mother’s psychic abilities.

Gwen starts having vivid, repeating dreams about the children who were killed at Alpine Lake. These dreams lead her to the basement of the Grabber’s old, empty house. While there, a black phone rings, and when she answers, she’s connected to her mother, Hope, all the way back in 1957. Through this strange conversation, Gwen learns where Alpine Lake is located and discovers her mother used to work there. She then persuades a hesitant Finney and an eager Ernesto to join her in investigating the camp, hoping to understand her dreams. However, as soon as they arrive, a powerful snowstorm traps them at the isolated camp with the staff, leaving them completely cut off from the outside world and any chance of rescue.

At Alpine Lake, the killer, known as the Grabber, uses the camp’s phone booth to tell Finney his plan to get revenge. He’s targeting Gwen, and her arrival gives him the opportunity to carry out his horrifying intentions. Because Gwen is deeply connected to the supernatural, she unknowingly creates a gateway for the Grabber every time she falls asleep. This puts her in a vulnerable, dreamlike state where he can harm her while everyone else can only helplessly watch, desperately trying to wake her before it’s too late.

Once they saw the ghostly attack with their own eyes, the adults at the camp had to believe what the teenagers had been saying. They joined forces with Finney, Gwen, and Ernesto, understanding that their only chance was to find the remains of the Grabber’s first three victims, hidden somewhere on the camp grounds. By giving these boys a proper burial, they hoped to free their spirits and weaken the Grabber’s power.

As the second half of *The Black Phone 2* unfolds, Gwen battles increasing exhaustion, finding it harder and harder to stay awake. Each time she drifts off, it becomes more difficult for others to rouse her, and the Grabber’s power grows, becoming more real and dangerous to everyone nearby. During an attack, the Grabber shockingly reveals a dark secret to Gwen: he was responsible for her mother’s murder years ago, having followed her home and killed her.

The story reaches its peak when Terrence arrives with a snowplow, determined to fight the storm and rescue his kids. The family shares a deeply emotional moment, confronting their past hurts and uniting against the Grabber. While others desperately search the frozen lake, Gwen learns to control her psychic powers, confronting the Grabber in her dreams and using her abilities to guide the search team. This allows them to find the barrels holding the children’s remains. In a final showdown, Finney and Gwen work together to defeat the Grabber’s spirit, ultimately pushing him through the ice. The spirits of the children he harmed then pull him back into the depths.

Just before Gwen headed home, she got a final call from her mother, Hope. Hope, speaking from beyond, thanked Gwen for her work with the children, assured her that life continues after death, and promised they would all reunite in the future.

The Black Phone 2 is currently available in theaters.

What did you think of The Black Phone 2? Were you interested in how the new movie built upon the story from the first one? Share your thoughts in the comments below and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-10-18 17:15