Scored entertainment-first on WhatSphere's content-balance model 5
Its director stated on the record that "the movie is about childhood trauma and specifically the resilience of children" 1. Its director stated on the record that "i don't make a movie to make a point or send a message, you have to let that evolve organically as you write the characters" 2. Its director stated on the record that "for me, making these movies is always a cathartic experience, It's always a way of dispelling anxiety and fear, never creating it" 3. The adaptation scores 85 of 100 for faithfulness to that source 4. Taken together, the content-balance model places it entertainment-first at 19 of 100 5. Relative to the expected cast make-up for its production origin, on-screen representation registers above the baseline for White and below it for Hispanic and Black 6.
- 1Creator statementdirector: "The movie is about childhood trauma and specifically the resilience of children."SciFiNow, 2022 source ↗
- 2Creator statementdirector: "I don't make a movie to make a point or send a message, you have to let that evolve organically as you write the characters."SciFiNow, 2022 source ↗
- 3Creator statementdirector: "For me, making these movies is always a cathartic experience. It's always a way of dispelling anxiety and fear, never creating it."TIME Magazine, 2022 source ↗
- 4FaithfulnessFaithfulness 85 of 100.WhatSphere faithfulness checklist, score_version 1
- 5Content balanceAdvocacy 19 of 100, tier entertainment-first.WhatSphere content-balance model, score_version 1
- 6RepresentationRepresentation vs production-origin baseline: White 66, Hispanic 30, Black 35.WhatSphere representation model, score_version 1
WhatSphere presents the sourced record; it does not cast the judgement. Every statement above is drawn from a stored, sourced row — shown beside it — and nothing is asserted beyond what those receipts support.
Synopsis
Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
Age: 42 — leans younger
Quadrant Scores
Audience Representation
Where to Watch (US)
Netflix
YouTube TV
USA Network
Netflix Standard with Ads
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
FlixFlingAmazon VideoApple TV StoreGoogle Play MoviesYouTubeFandango At HomeSource Material
| Title | Author | Type | Year | Purchase link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Black Phone (short story in 20th Century Ghosts) | Joe Hill | novel | 2004 |
What did the audience think? Rate The Black Phone — every voice counts equally, no account needed. Clean reviews appear instantly.
What Changed from the Source
The production decisions behind this adaptation, as recorded — original versus on screen.
Source faithfulness: 85/100
Put its audience profile side by side with any other title.
Advocacy Over Time in Horror
The average advocacy score of Horror titles by release year, with this title marked. Higher is more advocacy-driven.
| Year | Average advocacy | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 0 | 2 |
| 1963 | 0 | 2 |
| 1970 | 6 | 2 |
| 1972 | 1 | 4 |
| 1973 | 1 | 3 |
| 1975 | 2 | 2 |
| 1976 | 0 | 2 |
| 1977 | 2 | 2 |
| 1978 | 0 | 5 |
| 1979 | 7 | 4 |
| 1980 | 2 | 3 |
| 1981 | 1 | 4 |
| 1982 | 0 | 4 |
| 1984 | 0 | 2 |
| 1985 | 0 | 2 |
| 1987 | 0 | 3 |
| 1988 | 2 | 2 |
| 1990 | 0 | 2 |
| 1992 | 0 | 2 |
| 1995 | 0 | 3 |
| 1996 | 0 | 2 |
| 1997 | 2 | 6 |
| 1998 | 0 | 2 |
| 1999 | 1 | 5 |
| 2000 | 1 | 5 |
| 2001 | 0 | 9 |
| 2002 | 1 | 8 |
| 2003 | 3 | 5 |
| 2004 | 0 | 10 |
| 2005 | 0 | 9 |
| 2006 | 1 | 9 |
| 2007 | 0 | 7 |
| 2008 | 1 | 5 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3 |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 |
| 2017 | 8 | 2 |
| 2018 | 6 | 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 3 |
| 2020 | 15 | 3 |
| 2022 | 7 | 10 |
| 2023 | 5 | 5 |
| 2024 | 7 | 9 |
| 2025 | 3 | 16 |
| 2026 | 4 | 19 |
| This title (2022) | 19 | 1 |
● This title (2022): advocacy 19 · explore Horror →
Cast & Crew
Alex Beaver (director) · Jason Blumenfeld (director)
Made for the Same Audience
Titles with the closest audience-sphere profile — not just the same genre.
Same Audience, Lower Advocacy
Made for a similar audience but scored lower on advocacy — the closest less-message-driven picks, ranked by audience-sphere proximity.
Related Titles
