Scott Derrickson’s Black Phone 2 will push the original’s supernatural serial killer story to nightmarish new depths, and in doing so it borrows heavily from the very best of the golden age of horror in the 1980s. Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke will reprise their roles as Finney and the enigmatic now-ᴅᴇᴀᴅ serial killer known as The Grabber as the overarching narrative picks up three years after the events of the original.

That temporal setting places Black Phone 2 in 1982, with most of the action taking place either in Finney’s hometown of Denver, Colorado, or the mountain retreat recognized as Alpine Lake Youth Camp. Fittingly, Derrickson and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill, who is also returning from the original, loaded the sequel with references, themes, and motifs from some of the most famous horror movies of the 80s.

Early reviews for the highly-anticipated sequel have been very positive, and it appears Derrickson and Cargill blended the right elements together to create something totally unique, and undeniably scary. While there may be more waiting in the full runtime, we can identify at least 10 different 80s horror classics whose DNA can be found in the aesthetic of Black Phone 2‘s trailer.

10

Curtains (1983)

Curtains is the definition of a cult classic, as the 1983 Canadian slasher film was late night TV fodder up until it generated a resurgence in popularity in the 21st century. The somewhat campy, giallo-inspired gorefest’s wintry woods setting does a lot of the heavy lifting in connecting it to Black Phone 2.

The impactful image of the Grabber skating across the frozen lake with his axe feels as if it could have been lifted from Curtains, which featured a scythe-wielding killer who decimates a group of ambitious actresses holed up in a mountain mansion. Curtains notably targets adults as opposed to the typical 1980s Sєx-crazed teenagers.

9

The Burning (1981)

Inspired by a real New York City urban legend, The Burning centers around a camp counselor who seeks revenge on a group of campers after they set him on fire, horribly disfiguring him for life. The Black Phone 2 promotional materials feature a boy with a burned body, and the Grabber’s hellish face (underneath the mask) certainly conjures similar vibes to the maniac known as “Cropsy”.

8

The Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1981)

The ultimate cult classic-turned mainstream, The Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ rocked audiences in the early 80s with its unrepentant onslaught of gore and disturbing imagery, which in itself seems to jibe with what Black Phone 2 is going for based on the trailer. Adding in the remote woods setting, and you’ve got another clear connection.

The Grabber’s unᴅᴇᴀᴅ visage, along with the frightening spirits of the boys he murdered also align with some of the various stages that the human characters go through as their bodies ae corrupted by the ᴅᴇᴀᴅites in The Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

7

Friday the 13th (1980)

The camp connection is clear and obvious between Friday the 13th and Black Phone 2, as both are set in a summer camp that has been plagued by tragedy in its past. The concept of a typically-idyllic lake setting hiding something much darker and more evil is readily apparent in Black Phone 2.

The first eight Friday the 13th movies all took place in the 80s, and while it’s clear Derrickson isn’t trying to remind you of travesties like Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, there is clearly a little Jason Voorhees in the brutality of the Grabber’s slayings.

6

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween II is nowhere near the top of anybody’s Favorite Halloween Movies list, but the sequel themes that make it align with Black Phone 2 are there. In John Carpenter’s masterpiece Halloween, Michael Myers is a deeply troubled and evil enтιтy, but he is still viewed as a man, just as The Grabber is in The Black Phone.

Halloween II is where Michael Myers really began to feel inhuman, and unkillable. The climax sees Laurie Strode shoot him in the eyes with a gun just before Dr. Loomis triggers and explosion that should completely burn him and Michael to death. However, the hulking mental patient walks away from the explosion, advancing briefly before finally falling down.

Similarly, Black Phone 2 sees The Grabber cease to be a man and evolve into something else entirely. He is wholly evil, supernaturally powerful, and it remains to be seen if he can in fact be destroyed once and for all.

5

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

This is perhaps the most obvious of comparisons for Black Phone 2, as the central premise appears to be (based on the trailers) that The Grabber can now reach children in their dreams, as he does with Finney’s younger sister Gwen. If The Grabber is able to cause physical harm by harming the child in their dreams, then he’s almost a direct parallel for Freddy Krueger.

Like Krueger, The Grabber was a serial killer in life before being transformed into something else in death. While Freddy was (in the original movies) offered the chance to become a dream demon by other hellish enтιтies, it remains to be seen how The Grabber is able to come back from Hell to kill again.

4

The Fog (1980)

Another John Carpenter masterpiece, The Fog shares the theme of vengeance from beyond the grave with Black Phone 2. The Grabber skates out of the fog over the water at Alpine Lake Youth Camp in the trailer, which is quite similar to how the vengeful enтιтies emerge from the fog in the 1980 classic.

3

The Shining (1980)

The Shining clearly served as inspiration for Black Phone 2, as the icy Rocky Mountain setting dials right down the center of the aesthetic of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic masterpiece. The Grabber wielding his axe across a frozen landscape naturally conjures images of a maniacal Jack Torrance stalking through the maze outside the Overlook H๏τel, making for another clear connection.

2

The Thing (1982)

While the Black Phone 2 trailers don’t necessarily outright state that the heroes are snowbound at Alpine Lake Youth Camp, it certainly seems like they might be given how much time is spent in that setting (based on what we can see, anyway). That brings the chilly claustrophobia of The Thing to mind, with the cold acting as just as big an obstacle ad any ghostly slasher or alien predator.

1

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Debuting in 1983, Sleepaway Camp certainly caught some hell for being a Friday the 13th knockoff, with the teenagers-brutally-murdered-at-camp concept and mysterious killer idenтιтy certainly sharing plenty of characteristics. However, it’s developed a cult following in the decades since, with its shocking twist ending earning newfound respect, distinguishing it from other 80s slashers.

The camp setting and brutal teenage/child murder is certainly present in Black Phone 2, and the fact that it almost operates as a sneaky coming-of-age movie is as well. As Finney grows up, he goes from being a victim of the Grabber to protecting his sister, nailing the coming-of-age angle as well.