‘Black Phone 2’ Director Scott Derrickson on Perfect Horror Sequels, Making High School Scares and His Thoughts About ‘Black Phone 3’

“Evil Dead II,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “M3GAN 2.0”: It’s carved into horror’s bloody history that not all sequels are created equal. However, the significance of the sequel, threequel and so on cannot be understated in the context of genre iconography. While they sometimes drive the horror canon to thrilling new heights, franchise follow-ups can bring an unhinged surrealism that, for better or worse, disrupts the rule book with a bucket of guts in hand.

“Black Phone 2” is a rare film that succeeds at both. At its beating heart is a devastating brother-sister story about generational trauma and teenage growing pains. And at its climax, the Grabber, the franchise killer played by Ethan Hawke, gracefully stalks his victims on ice skates, ready to lop some heads with an axe.

Director Scott Derrickson describes this bloody ballet as a…