Black Phone 2 (2025) returns as the supernatural sequel to the 2021 original, and we brought back the same FearScale test subject to see whether this chapter could deliver a stronger scare.
SYNOPSIS:
As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, his sister 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.
Where We Monitored: Amazon Prime Video
Test Subject: Leah
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Fears: Agoraphobia or the fear of being in places from which escape is difficult
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
A wintry rush of exposition opens the film. Set in the 1980s, we reunite with the original characters, now teenagers dealing with the lingering psychological fallout of their earlier trauma. Early on, their emotional baggage didn’t do much to disturb our subject. But a few unsettling cutaway scenes managed to jolt the needle, nudging the heart monitor up to a mild 73 bpm.
As the mystery deepened, bloody visions and unsettling dreams carried our subject through the story. The first significant spike didn’t arrive until the 33-minute mark, when a tense cabin attack boosted their heart rate from a resting 64 bpm to 84 bpm.
Ghostly appearances, reminiscent of the original film, continued to haunt the screen, though some effects bordered on unintentionally humorous, draining some of the eerie tension and leaving our subject more amused than afraid. Lengthy dialogue scenes kept the pulse sitting low, proving that sometimes the scariest thing in a horror film is pacing.
FearScale Health Note: Sitting still for two hours, without watching a horror movie, burns roughly 160 calories.
CONCLUSION:
Black Phone 2 is a film that’s scarier in concept than execution. It’s a slow burn with repetitive beats that never quite cranks the heart rate into true terror territory. The story itself is intriguing, and the finale did ring in a respectable 90 bpm peak, but ultimately, this sequel feels like the filmmakers… phoned it in.
Compare the scares from the original Black Phone here!
Black Phone 2 (2025) : Burns an average of 209 Calories
Medium Frosty : 393 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Black Phone 2 (2025) ? Let us know in the comments below or on Instagram, and Facebook
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