What Is The Black Phone Rated? What Parents Should Know Before Letting Their Kids Watch
Few things have symbolized the box office recovery from COVID-19 the way that recent horror films have. While superhero movies are a spectacle and studios naturally expect that audiences will show up to see them on the big screen, horror movies don't always gain that kind of traction. This is why "The Black Phone" was such a welcome surprise.
Bringing in over $160 million off its estimated budget of $18 million, "The Black Phone" helped to reinstill faith in theatrical releases during the summer of 2022, and it's easy to see why. With a creepy masked killer played by Ethan Hawke at the forefront of its marketing, the film mixes the visceral terror of a child killer with a supernatural phone that allows his past victims to talk back.
Of course, since "The Black Phone" is about such sensitive matters, there is more than enough reason for parents to question whether they want to let their kids watch the R-rated dark thriller. Still, according to Common Sense, many parents and kids seem to agree that the film is appropriate for viewers who are 13 years of age or older.
Though The Black Phone is grim, it isn't overly nasty
Despite this consensus, parents will want to be aware that The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) from "The Black Phone" is a terrifying villain. With his changing masks and twisted sensibilities, the killer puts Finney (Mason Thames) through a truly terrifying ordeal during his confinement, despite there being little actual violence between the two characters.
There are other concerning instances throughout "The Black Phone" as well, such as Finney and Gwen's (Madeleine McGraw) abusive, alcoholic father, Mr. Shaw (Jeremy Davies), and a group of nasty bullies that target Finney early on. There is also a lot of foul language, including more extreme epithets that reference gender or sexuality.
However, despite its chilling story of a child abducted by a sadistic killer, "The Black Phone" gives The Grabber's dead victims some agency in the film, leading to a cathartic and ultimately hopeful conclusion, even as it dives into traumatic memories from its director's own childhood.
Finally, while parents no doubt wish they didn't live in a world where they had to worry about real-life child abductors, the film does depict how they might operate, which is useful information for any kid who can handle the film's intense subject matter.