“Black Phone” Director Scott Derrickson Reveals Last-Minute Final Change

[This story contains spoilers for The Black Phone.]

Making a horror movie about a sadistic child killer can be a challenge in itself, but black phone Co-writer/director Scott Derrickson said there was one scene that was particularly difficult to do.

In an emotional moment, Terence Blake (Jeremy Davis), the alcoholic father of missing boy Finn (Mason Thames), beats up his daughter, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

“It was probably the thing that made me the most nervous,” Derrickson said. hollywood reporter. “I chose the kitchen, which I chose because it had a long counter. I realized that you could actually get away with a scene like this very easily and that the viewer could turn on the movie. I wanted them to be upset and offended, but I didn’t want them to get involved.”

So Derrickson opted to soften the film’s moment.

“I thought, ‘I don’t want to see this kid really beaten up.’ So the foreground is behind the screen,” Derrickson said. “He’s under the counter and his anger is most irritating. And then his really emotional performance, most of it happens when he gets up and has a lot of resistance with him. with the belt up, but never hits her again. So everything was handled very specifically in the choreography.”

Also, Derrickson says there was a big change in the last minute that was very difficult. In one of the film’s final scenes, Robin (Miguel Casare Mora), a former victim who spoke to Finn thanks to the film’s unplugged black phone, appears as a ghost. Problem? That wasn’t the original plan, and the young actor who plays Robin has already flown home.

“Robin was not in the room in the script. “It was just a phone call,” Derrickson explained. “A day or two before our shooting… I was suddenly hit out of the blue. I said, “Oh, the audience has to see this baby again. We have to see him again. It won’t be good if we don’t see him again.’ I thought, “Where is that baby?” And they said, “We’re flying home.” I said, “Bring him back.” You have to fly back.”

In the morning, when the scene was to be filmed, Derrickson hadn’t blocked the way forward. He found himself alone on set and thinking about how Robin and Finn would meet face to face.

“I do it all in one take,” said Derrickson, who thinks it’s one of the film’s best moments. “I think a good director always has an antenna trying to understand how this movie should be. If you do that, sometimes you can make bigger decisions.”

Derrickson says that when he and Robert Cargill wrote the script, they wanted to make sure there was no common denominator as to why Ethan Hawke chose the prey as his victim. They were all different: some were tough, some were weak, some were small, some were not. He is particularly moved by Griffin (Bank Repetta), the guy who turns upside down in the film.

“Even if we don’t see his story, I’m very excited about what he said. When Finn says, “You’re a griffin”, he says, “Maybe”. And Finn says, “I didn’t know you,” and he says, “Nobody knew you.” “One day nobody knows your name, the next day you’re in every title and everybody knows your name,” Derrickson recalled. “He was an invisible little boy, and then Finn is in the middle.”

The filmmaker continues: “His idea was to present a wide range, from the smallest and weakest child to the hardest and strongest child. Putting two of the toughest, strongest boys on top of that emphasized how dangerous prey was that couldn’t protect itself or escape its buttocks. It can happen to anyone. “

black phone It opens in theaters this weekend and also stars Mason Thames and James Ranson. You can read the first part THRInterview with Derrickson here.