Four years after his escape from the clutches of The Grabber, Finn (Mason Thames) carries the trauma of the ordeal with him. In Black Phone 2, Finn, along with his sibling Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) relive the nightmare. Writer-producer Robert C. Cargill explains how they want to unpack Finn’s burden as a survivor and how it’ll play into the sequel. “Finn went through something horrific, and while he came out of it strong, the weight of what happened has not left him,” writer-producer C. Robert Cargill says. “He is haunted by the Grabber. He sees him everywhere, and he is using drugs to try to numb the fear. He wants nothing to do with the spirits, with the phone, with any of it. He is trying to shut it all out and live in denial. So, as Gwen starts uncovering this new mystery, Finn is doing everything he can to stay out of it. But of course, life does not let you run forever. Eventually, he will have to face what he has been avoiding.”
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In Black Phone 2 sees Finn and Gwen revisiting their nightmare as The Grabber vows vengeance from beyond the grave. Gwen starts to see visions of an eerie winter camp, along with three boys being stalked by The Grabber. Determined to end the cycle of pain, the siblings set off to confront a killer who has grown stronger in death.
Thames, returning to from his breakout role in the first film, aims to portray a Finn who has grown more experienced and complex. “In this film, we see that Finn has changed,” Thames says. “He has been holding all this anger inside, and he is not the same kid we met in the first movie. Back then, he was already complex, but now he is even more layered. Instead of facing his trauma, he smokes weed to cope. The moment he feels any of that PTSD creeping in, he shuts it out. This film becomes a question of whether he is ready to confront the Grabber again or keep running from him.”
