Black Phone appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie offered a pretty strong transfer.
Overall definition seemed positive. A smidgen of softness hit some interior shots, but most of the movie showed nice delineation.
I witnessed no issued with shimmering or jagged edges, and edge haloes remained absent. No print flaws cropped up along the way – outside of intentional “defects” in some period-representation Super 8 footage, that is.
Like virtually all modern horror tales, Phone opted for a stylized palette that favored amber/orange with some teal tossed in as well. The hues worked fine for the material.
Blacks seemed dark, while shadows showed positive clarity most of the time, though a few interiors felt a little dim. This became a quality presentation.
Similar thoughts greeted the film’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack. It went for a fairly atmospheric air, as the mix gave us logical accompaniment for the creepy visuals.
This meant music popped up around the room and became somewhat dominant while effects remained mostly in the environmental realm. Violent scenes used the channels in an active manner, though, and those added pizzazz to the proceedings. Don’t expect a lot of activity here, though, given the movie’s fairly subdued vibe.
Audio quality was good. Dialogue appeared natural and concise, while music showed nice range and impact.
Effects boasted positive punch and dimensionality, with deep low-end when necessary. Though not a killer mix, the audio fit the story.
As we move to extras, we begin with an audio commentary from writer/director Scott Derrickson. He provides a running, screen-specific look at his personal interest in the project, the source and its adaptation, story/characters, reflections of his childhood, cast and performances, music and photography, sets and locations, various design choices, and related areas.
Expect a solid commentary, as Derrickson touches on a lot of useful areas here. In particular, his reflections of his childhood and influences give the discussion an unusual layer of depth.
This becomes a strong chat overall, though Derrickson makes one weird goof. When he refers to special effects legend Tom Savini, he persistently calls him Tom Savino. He also refers to corporal punishment as “corporeal punishment”, but the Savini/Savino thing seems weirder.
Two Deleted Scenes appear: “Is This America Now?” (0:49) and “No Dreams” (0:29). “America” features Finney’s father’s reaction to the kidnappings, and “Dreams” looks at a brief discussion between Finney and Emily. As implied by their brevity, neither adds much.
Some featurettes follow and Ethan Hawke’s Evil Turn runs four minutes, 25 seconds. It includes notes from co-writer C. Robert Cargill, executive producer Ryan Turek, and actors Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames.
As implied, “Turn” looks at Hawke’s character and performance. Not much substance emerges, but we get a few decent details.
Answering the Call goes for 10 minutes, 40 seconds and involves Derrickson, Hawke, Cargill, Thames, director of photography Brett Jutkiewicz, hair stylist Priscilla Green, stunt coordinator Mark Riccardi, production designer Patti Podesta, key hair stylist Weldon Steinke, and actors Tristan Pravong, Brady Hepner, Madeline McGraw, Miguel Cazarez Mora, Jacob Moran, and Banks Repeta.
“Call” examines the project’s roots and development, story and characters, visual choices and period elements, cast and performances, and Derrickson’s impact on the production. This becomes a sporadically informative but somewhat superficial reel.
With Devil in the Design, we get a five-minute, 15-second piece that features Hawke, Podesta, Cargill, Thames, Steinke, Jutkiewicz, assistant property master Ashley Clements, set costumer Laurel Pocucha Ojala, hair department head Michelle Johnson, makeup FX department head Rick Pour, sound mixer Kevin Strahm, and mask designers/creators Tom Savini and Jason Baker.
This program covers period elements and hair/costume/production design as well as some effects. We find a short but interesting view of the topics.
Super 8 Set spans one minute, 48 seconds and brings comments from Jutkiewicz, Cargill, and Hawke. This gives us a brief and nearly insight-free look at the movie’s use of Super 8.
Next comes Shadowprowler, a short film made by Derrickson. It lasts 11 minutes, 57 seconds.
Teenager Brady (Dashiell Derrickson) deals with a mysterious intruder (Atticus Derrickson). It doesn’t go much of anywhere.
The disc opens with ads for Memory and The Munsters (2022). No trailer for Phone appears here.
A second disc provides a DVD copy of the film. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.
Due to a mix of serious plot flaws, I cannot call The Black Phone a great horror movie. Nonetheless, it still manages to deliver a creepy, tense experience, so it works despite its problems. The Blu-ray comes with pretty good picture and audio along with bonus materials headlined by a terrific commentary. Expect an erratic but largely engaging tale here.