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Arriving as the resurrected master of horror machine was continuing to produce film versions, without concern for excellence, The Black Phone felt like a lazy fanboy tribute. Set against a 1970s small town setting, young performers, gifted youths and twisted community predator, it was close to pastiche and, like the very worst of King’s stories, it was also awkwardly crowded.

Curiously the inspiration originated from within the household, as it was inspired by a compact narrative from his descendant, expanded into a film that was a shocking commercial success. It was the story of the Grabber, a sadistic killer of young boys who would revel in elongating the process of killing. While molestation was not referenced, there was something clearly non-heteronormative about the character and the historical touchpoints/moral panics he was obviously meant to represent, reinforced by the performer playing him with a distinctly flamboyant manner. But the film was too opaque to ever really admit that and even excluding that discomfort, it was excessively convoluted and too focused on its exhaustingly grubby nastiness to work as anything beyond an undiscerning sleepover nightmare fuel.

Second Installment's Release During Filmmaking Difficulties

Its sequel arrives as former horror hit-makers Blumhouse are in critical demand for a hit. Recently they've faced challenges to make anything work, from Wolf Man to their thriller to Drop to the utter financial disappointment of the robotic follow-up, and so a great deal rides on whether the sequel can prove whether a brief narrative can become a movie that can generate multiple installments. However, there's an issue …

Paranormal Shift

The original concluded with our protagonist Finn (the young actor) defeating the antagonist, helped and guided by the apparitions of earlier casualties. This has compelled writer-director Scott Derrickson and his writing partner Cargill to move the franchise and its antagonist toward fresh territory, converting a physical threat into a ghostly presence, a path that leads them by way of Freddy's domain with a capability to return into reality facilitated by dreams. But different from the striped sweater villain, the villain is noticeably uncreative and entirely devoid of humour. The mask remains successfully disturbing but the production fails to make him as scary as he temporarily seemed in the original, constrained by complex and typically puzzling guidelines.

Mountain Retreat Location

Finn and his irritatingly profane sibling Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) face him once more while stranded due to weather at an alpine Christian camp for kids, the follow-up also referencing regarding the hockey mask killer the Friday the 13th antagonist. The sister is directed there by a vision of her late mother and potentially their dead antagonist's original prey while the protagonist, continuing to deal with his rage and recently discovered defensive skills, is pursuing to safeguard her. The screenplay is excessively awkward in its forced establishment, awkwardly requiring to get the siblings stranded at a location that will additionally provide to background information for hero and villain, providing information we weren't particularly interested in or care to learn about. In what also feels like a more calculated move to edge the film toward the similar religious audiences that turned the Conjuring franchise into huge successes, the director includes a religious element, with good now more closely associated with the divine and paradise while evil symbolizes the demonic and punishment, belief the supreme tool against this type of antagonist.

Overcomplicated Story

The result of these decisions is further over-stack a story that was formerly nearly collapsing, including superfluous difficulties to what could have been a straightforward horror movie. Frequently I discovered overly occupied with inquiries about the hows and whys of what could or couldn’t happen to experience genuine engagement. It’s a low-lift effort for the actor, whose face we never really see but he maintains authentic charisma that’s typically lacking in other aspects in the cast. The environment is at times atmospherically grand but the majority of the persistently unfrightening scenes are flawed by a gritty film stock appearance to separate sleep states from consciousness, an ineffective stylistic choice that feels too self-aware and constructed to mirror the frightening randomness of experiencing a real bad dream.

Weak Continuation Rationale

At just under 2 hours, Black Phone 2, like M3gan 2.0 before it, is a needlessly long and hugely unconvincing justification for the establishment of a new franchise. When it calls again, I advise letting it go to voicemail.

• The follow-up film releases in Australian cinemas on October 16 and in America and Britain on 17 October