Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn (Mason Thames) killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of the Grabber (Ethan Hawke). But, in Black Phone 2, true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again.
As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old
Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.
Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother,
Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.
As Black Phone 2 calls into Australian cinemas on October 16, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the films star Madeleine McGraw about emotionally finding her way into Gwen’s trauma from the first film, and the excitement around the stunt heavy scenes she got to perform.
Nick: Madeleine, it’s so great to see you again! How are you?
Madeleine McGraw: I’m great! How are you?
Nick: I’m doing really well. This is genuinely one of my favourite movies of the year. I loved this film!
Madeleine McGraw: Oh my, God! Thank you!
Nick: When we spoke for the first film, I told you how much I loved the horror genre, and obviously I went into this film expecting scares, but I was so surprised by how emotional this story made me. I think Scott and [C. Robert] Cargill’s script really finds this empathetic way to explore Gwen and Finney’s trauma. So, I’m curious to know how your own empathy as Madeleine was able to help find away to explore Gwen’s emotions in this story?
Madeleine McGraw: Honestly, finding ways I could relate to her was a lot harder in the second movie. It was such a big challenge for me going into this second film and playing Gwen again, because she’s so different from the first movie. Then I was like, “Oh, Gwen is my IRL!” But the second movie, we were so different.
The more I thought about it, and the more I was filming and working on set, I found more ways that I could relate to her mentally. I feel like I was going through a lot of different challenges in my personal life off set which I was able to contribute to playing Gwen, which was kind of nice to have this sort of outlet to channel all of that energy.
Playing Gwen again definitely challenged my acting abilities. It put me to the test for sure. Scott and Cargill are very, very kind because they said to me multiple times, “Madi, we would not write anything in there that we knew you couldn’t do to the best of your ability!” That was very flattering! I love working with them so much, and I’m glad I got to explore more of Gwen’s storyline, and just more of the storyline in general with the background stories. I really think fans are going to appreciate where this story goes.
Nick: Oh, I agree. And I think it builds so well off of the foundation and emotional investment we as audiences had into Gwen and Finney from the first film…
Madeleine McGraw: 1000%! I feel like that’s what Scott and Cargill are so great at when it comes to writing. They make people feel a connection to these characters. That’s why I think The Black Phone had the impact that it did. It’s not just a horror movie. It resonated with all of these people because it had a really deep and dark storyline to it. And I think the second one is even more emotional than the first. I had emotional reactions making this film that I’ve never had before.
There was one scene where Gwen sees something really disturbing, and I actually cried all day on set between takes. I don’t know why, but I just was crying constantly. It was so dark, and I was so deep into the headspace of where my characters was at, and what her reaction would be seeing it. I mean, it definitely helped with filming, but I just couldn’t shake it right away.
Nick: Was the physicality of Gwen a challenge this time around too? Because you have a few stunt scenes in this film where Gwen is getting thrown around quite viciously!
Madeleine: I mean, personally, I love stunts! I love getting thrown around and throwing punches. That is my favourite stuff. I’m a soccer player, so I feel like maybe that has some shared attributes with it too. Like, I have stamina and I don’t need to workout constantly during the shooting process.
There was definitely a lot of stunt rehearsals. Like, a lot of stunt rehearsals in pre-production. And then I’d definitely wake up some days after shooting some stunts where I was so sore. But, it was so interesting to go through it all for the first time!
The most challenging stunts for me was the underwater stuff, because I’ve never done anything like that before. I got to get scuba certified! And that was honestly very scary for me! I love the ocean so much, but I’ve never been that deep under it. So, training for that was a little intimidating.
What was also really interesting about shooting all of that stuff was the fact that I couldn’t let out bubbles. If there was bubbles, we’d have to redo it until there wasn’t. I didn’t have a regulator, so I had to hold my breath – which I didn’t know I had to do until we were there on the day [laughs] – and I just had to sit there and wait for them to say, “Bubbles are clear”! And we would roll and shoot the scene, which was crazy.
Nick: When we spoke for the first film, I pointed out to you how much I enjoy Gwen’s insults. And Gwen really gets to go off in this film, especially in the church scene! But, back then, you told me you don’t like to swear! So, I’m curious to know if that has changed at all now you’ve had to live through this all again as Gwen!
Madeleine McGraw: [laughs] That’s actually such a funny question! I don’t swear in front of my parents! And I still really don’t in general. Not very often. On the soccer field, it’s a little bit different [laughs]. Sometimes, I let things slip. I do try to say, “Fudge”, instead.
It definitely came more naturally this time around. I mean, all of my friends cuss, so it just felt like a more normal thing, where as making the first movie, I was scared to say the bad words in front of my mum!
Nick: I think it works so much for Gwen as a character though. It feels oddly necessary.
Madeleine McGraw: I totally agree. My thoughts on this are that I feel like she lost so many different sides of her after the first movie. And I feel like her feisty side and her cussing is the one thing that really truly stayed with her. Like, she got feistier. And that’s what truly makes Gwen, Gwen. It’s honestly one of my favourite characteristics about her.
Thank you so much to Madeleine for her time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the interview. Black Phone 2 is in Australian cinemas October 16.
