When The Black Phone first hit theaters, it terrified audiences with its mix of supernatural horror and psychological suspense.  Now, the Black Phone 2 has arrived, promising even more chills. This raises the question of whether or not the sequel will live up to the original. Let’s break down how the two compare in story, tone and fear factor.

First off, let’s compare the storylines: they both have Finney and Gwen Black as the protagonists , with the Grabber as the antagonist. They also have supernatural elements that overlay a real horror scenario, with the themes of trauma, survival and sibling connections.

In contrast, the first movie is more grounded horror with a little supernatural twist. The second leans further into supernatural and psychological horror with a less simple kidnapping and more spiritual horror. 

Both movies fall under thriller and horror, but have different tones. The first is tighter and realistic with the fear of being trapped from Finney’s isolation in the basement and the constant threat of the Grabber. The overall tone of the first one mixes 1970s nostalgia with true crime dread and psychological intensity that connects to the black phone and the dead children. 

The second one leans more into psychological and spiritual horror with a darker and moodier tone. There is more focus on visions, dreams and supernatural revenge, so it is carried by a ghost-story tone.

Both The Black Phone and Black Phone 2 are scary, but they use fear in different ways. The first one is more scary on a gut level,  it shows the fear of being kidnapped and trapped by someone evil. While the second one is more scary on a mental level, it shows the idea that evil doesn’t die and that trauma can follow you forever.

Black Phone 2 was a good sequel that was undoubtedly worth the wait, even though it is more gory than the first movie. The ending of Black Phone 2 was stronger and served as a more fitting conclusion to the series than the ending of the first.