In his first turn as a full-blown villain, Ethan Hawke stars as “The Grabber,” a serial killer whose plans are diverted when his latest kidnap victim, 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames), begins receiving calls from the disconnected phone in his dank basement accomodations from five previous fatalities offering advice on how to bring down the executioner. The first hour affords viewers more genuine nerve damage, not just garden variety jump-scares, than any Blumfield horror outing since Paranormal Activity. As much as I’d like to call it, “It done right,” the masked killer’s motivation remains too big a mystery. And if phone calls from dead victims weren't a big enough strain on one’s critical thinking, we rely on younger sister Gwen’s (Madeleine McGraw) telekinesis to solve the crime. It’s a great mask — an update on Lon Chaney’s toothsome killer in London After Midnight — one that changes expression with the lighting. As much as I admire Hawke, the grinning veil provides most of the chills. Whether she’s cursing out ineffectual police or bartering with Jesus for her brother’s life, the film belongs to McGraw. Suffice it to say, if Gwen was the lead character, she’d have been freed and our villain slaughtered before the half-hour mark. Scott Derrickson (Dr. Strange) directs. (2021) — Scott Marks
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