Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Black Phone 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 12, 2023

Universal has released the 2021 Horror film 'The Black Phone' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video and Dolby Atmos audio. The UHD disc incudes all of the same extras from the 2022 Blu-ray, a copy of which is also included in this release.

A small Colorado town is haunted by the evil deeds of "The Grabber," a notorious kidnapper who has been snatching local children for some time now. Siblings Finney and Gwen Blake (Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw) live with their alcoholic and abusive father (Jeremy Davies). One day, it is Finney who is grabbed by the kidnapping maniac (Ethan Hawke). He finds himself in a near empty basement with little more than a filthy mattress, a disgusting toilet, and a black telephone hanging on the wall. Soon, Finney begins to receive telephone calls from the Grabber's past victims, offering him advice on his captivity: avoiding traps, knowledge of the room, and even fighting techniques. As Finney struggles to escape, Gwen begins receiving psychic dreams that clue her in to her brother's whereabouts.

For a full film review, please click here.

The Black Phone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Universal's UHD release of The Black Phone features 2160p/HDR video. From the opening shot of the baseball game forward, it is clear that the HDR grading has significantly darkened the film. The Blu-ray is much brighter. The baseball scene looks overcast on the Blu-ray and practically at sundown or under a sky on the verge of extremely stormy weather on the UHD. In fact, the entire movie is very dark, so much so that the HDR grading becomes a nuisance in places. The pervasive darkness in the cellar holding area is only amplified, with small streaks of light and the only reprieve from near total darkness. To be sure, the movie's tone and tenor and narrative demand such a darkness, but the movie is frankly hard to see in places, and not in a good, atmospheric way. While much darker, there is some added depth to colors, though not much more vividness. Blacks do hold to their depth, and crush is not a serious issue. This one simply appears to push the brightness down way too far.

The movie is so pervasively dark that it's difficult to tell what sort of textural upgrades are on display, but when given good opportunity to compare, there's simply not much going on here, either. The UHD image is definitely a little crisper and clarity gains are obvious. The digital sheen is a little more pronounced. There are slight improvements to faces, to clothing textures, and the like, but good luck spotting any significant detail upgrades down in the dark and dank holding cell where some of the roughhewn elements might have excelled at a higher resolution, but it's just too dark to notice or frankly to even care. The image is sharper, but the gains in the best-lit of scenes are not dramatic.

The image also suffers from some noise and compression issues. Look at the 18:47 mark for some evidence of compression issues along the side of the television. Such issues run through the film, and noise management is not great, either. This is a rather poor UHD all around.

The Black Phone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal upgrades The Black Phone's audio to the Dolby Atmos configuration. This is not dramatically different from the 7.1 track found on the Blu-ray. The Atmos track adds some height elements that are more supportive rather than discrete in nature. The sounds of terror, including piercing music and haunting sound effects, manage to gain some amplified spacing, but nothing at all earth-shattering. Spacing is good, clarity is rock-solid, and low-end extension satisfies. However, it's just not much of a major turn from the previous audio experience. Music enjoys a little more spatial immersion but no discrete top end engagement, Dialogue remains well prioritized and centered for the duration.

The Black Phone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of The Black Phone includes the same extras from the 2022 Blu-ray. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. However, this release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Deleted Scenes
• Ethan Hawke's Evil Turn
• Answering the Call: Behind the Scenes of The Black Phone
• Devil in the Design
• Super 8 Set
• Shadowprowler: A Short Film by Scott Derrickson
• Audio Commentary: Producer/Co-Writer/Director Scott Derrickson.

The Black Phone 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a solid film that chooses to simply build and follow the narrative rather than try to explain it all away. That's a big key to success: it is low key, not very high concept, but it is also unique and captivating within its limited scope and explanation. Performances are wonderful, production design is great, and the film expertly blends jump scares and Horror music cues with core audience emotion and narrative engagement to fine effect. Universal's new UHD release of The Black Phone offers upgrades that are strictly technical in nature, and it would be hard to call this a significant upgrade in any way. Yes, the resolution is higher and yes, the HDR grading is there, but the movie teeters on unwatchable for the prevailing darkness. Textural details are not amplified in any significant way, either. The Atmos track is fine but not worlds different from the Blu-ray's 7.1 track. All extras return and no new extras are included. Keep the Blu-ray. Pass.