STACK #256 February 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

GENRE: Horror thriller RUN TIME: 1h 54m

BLACK PHONE 2 THE GRABBER RETURNS In 2022, director Scott Derrickson sent shivers down audiences’ spines with The Black Phone , a supernatural thriller adapted from Joe Hill’s short story. Fun Fact: Joe Hill is responsible for this sequel. He gave Derrickson a simple pitch: “A phone rings, Finney answers, and it’s The Grabber calling from hell”

It was a gut punch that many assumed could never be topped. Now, the unexpected sequel arrives, and somehow, it does.

MasonThames and Ethan Hawke

S et in the late 1970s, the original film tapped into the very real “stranger danger” threat of the era and told the story of a serial killer snatching children off the street. It was a chilling thriller and one of the best films of the year. It also had a finality that seemed to defy the need for a sequel. Yet now we have Black Phone 2 , a film that not only surpasses the original but also pivots into the slasher genre, embracing a 1980s aesthetic and giving fans a brand-new franchise. Four years have passed, and the young protagonists, Finn and Gwen, now teenagers, are forced to relive

their nightmare when The Grabber, brilliantly played by Ethan Hawke, returns with a personal score to settle. Their torment places them at a remote Alpine Lake Camp, caught in a winter freeze. For Derrickson, the influences are rooted in his own history and love of horror, with an obvious nod to the genre’s lineage. He says, “All the horror films I saw in the ‘80s still had a kind of invasive, inevitable influence. All the horror camp films, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street being the biggest, most obvious ones, and of course, some key imagery from

the much more obscure 1983 film Curtains . If you know that film, the homage is clear and unabashed.” Co-writer C. Robert Cargill also isn’t afraid to admit his biggest influence. “You cannot escape Stephen King’s influence. Scott and I have always been deeply influenced by King, and we built on that in the first film,” he says, adding, “In this film, Gwen is embracing and developing her abilities, while Finn is rejecting his. That duality really echoes those early King stories, especially Firestarter , which made a huge impact on me.” Glenn Cochrane

• Black Phone 2 is out Feb 4

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Slumber Party Massacre, X, Scream

DYK? Bugonia is a remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!

GENRE: Comedy sci-fi RUN TIME: 1h 59m

BUGONIA “HORRIFICALLY FUNNY OR HILARIOUSLY HORRIFIC”

Our era of conspiracy theories, paranoia and disconnect unite in a surreal style within Yorgos Lanthimos’ thrillingly unpredictable Bugonia .

• Bugonia is out Feb 11

L eaning fully into his trademark brand of dark humour and social unease, the story centres on two deeply paranoid men who become convinced that Michelle, a ruthless pharmaceutical CEO, is actually an alien intent on destroying Earth. In portraying Michelle, Emma Stone once again proves she’s one of the most fearless actors working today. You’re never quite sure whether her character is exactly what these men think she is, or whether she’s simply a projection of their fears and obsessions. With Jesse Plemons’s Teddy, he continues his streak of playing

unexpected,” says Plemons, 37. “It's a really strange but honest portrait of the times we're living in, how confusing and absurd it all is.” Stone agrees, noting the surreal humour nestled within the film’s often tragic elements. “In other words, Bugonia is the kind of horrifically funny – or hilariously horrific - film about our global doom times that only Lanthimos could make,” says the actress, marking her fifth outing with the filmmaker, having won an Oscar for her role in his 2023 movie Poor Things . Talking about the intensity of filming much of the movie in a small

cramped basement – just the three key actors - Plemons recalls, “There’s a sort

of insanity and a commentary in the midst of a really small environment, which I think Yorgos tends to be drawn to. “We're in a basement, and it’s really just people talking to each other a lot of the time, having perspectives that feel maybe incorrect or twisted. But they reveal these different versions of humanity and what can happen in a downward spiral of convincing yourself of something,” Gill Pringle

Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons

unsettling yet oddly sympathetic characters, teaming with his naive cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) to kidnap Michelle and hold her hostage in their basement. “The tone of it is so wild and varying. It’s so funny and so tragic, and the way into these very big conversations is so leftfield and

OTHER MOVIES FOR THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS:

Marathon Man, Capricorn One, The Hunt, They Live, Moonfall

26 FEBRUARY 2026

jbhifi.com.au