The Black Phone 2 Trailer Drops: The Grabber Returns and Horror Levels Up

“Dead is just a word.” That’s the eerie phrase at the center of The Black Phone 2, and judging by the brand-new trailer revealed at CCXP Mexico, it’s more than just a line—it’s a chilling promise.

Universal and Blumhouse are back with the highly anticipated sequel to the 2022 breakout hit The Black Phone, and it’s already raising goosebumps. Directed again by Scott Derrickson and starring Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke, the new film dives deeper into the supernatural horror that gripped audiences the first time around—only this time, it’s even darker.

The Grabber Is Back—But How?

Fans of the original will remember that The Black Phone ended with a final, deadly confrontation. The Grabber, played with terrifying precision by Ethan Hawke, was killed. So how is he returning for round two?

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The trailer doesn’t give away much, but it cleverly builds tension around that very question. Mason Thames returns as Finney, the teenage boy who survived the Grabber’s nightmare basement. Now older and in high school, he finds himself facing horrors that should be long gone. In a spine-chilling moment, Finney answers the same haunted rotary phone—only to hear the voice of the Grabber whispering back, “You of all people should know that dead is just a word.”

A New Kind of Ghost Story

Scott Derrickson, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, teased the shift in supernatural stakes. “The first movie was a ghost movie but all the ghosts were victims,” he said. “But in this one, you’ve got a ghost that is a villain.”

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That twist opens the door to a whole new style of horror. Instead of just helping the living, the dead are now playing a far more dangerous game. The Grabber’s presence may no longer be flesh and blood, but he’s back—and he’s even more frightening than before.

From Middle School to High School: A Tonal Shift

One of the most interesting changes in The Black Phone 2 is the shift in setting and age. While the first film focused on a middle school-aged Finney, this sequel picks up during his high school years. Derrickson says that change alone ups the intensity.

“A middle school coming-of-age horror movie is a different animal than a high school coming-of-age horror film,” he explained. “There’s a ratcheting up of intensity because of that.”

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The trailer hints at that tension with its visuals: snow-drenched settings, isolated cabins, and a lingering sense of dread drawn from Derrickson’s own memories of winter camps in the Rocky Mountains.

Joe Hill’s Return Sparks the Sequel

Interestingly, Derrickson didn’t plan on making a sequel right away. It was Joe Hill—Stephen King’s son and the author of the short story that inspired the first film—who reached out to him with ideas shortly after the original’s release.

When Derrickson realized that the actors would soon age out of the story’s timeline if he delayed, the decision became obvious. “And I can return to these characters in this different stage of their lives,” he said.

The result is a continuation that feels natural yet fresh, picking up where the original left off and pushing the horror further than before.

A More Violent and Graphic Chapter

Make no mistake—The Black Phone 2 isn’t just revisiting old scares. It’s doubling down on them. Derrickson describes the sequel as “more violent, scarier, more graphic,” largely because of the age of the characters and the evolution of the story.

Where the first movie had the tone of a suspenseful supernatural thriller, this one leans fully into horror. If the trailer is anything to go by, fans should expect intense visuals, psychological torment, and the kind of ghost story that doesn’t stay safely behind the veil of death.

So, mark your calendars. The Grabber may be dead—but his terror is just beginning.