‘Black Phone 2’ Interview: Director Scott Derrickson on the Blistering Beauty of Winter Horror
With Black Phone 2 arriving on physical media today (4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD), the sequel’s icy atmosphere feels newly ripe for revisiting. Director Scott Derrickson has never seemed shy about dual-prioritising both mood and mechanics, and in his return to the world of Black Phone, that potential philosophy is pushed even further—this time into the hostile, spiritual menace of a snowbound mountain camp.
I spoke with Derrickson about crafting an audiovisual experience rooted in Italian horror influences, why modern audiences are embracing atmosphere-driven genre cinema, and how his own formative experiences at winter camps in the Rockies shaped the sequel’s setting—all in celebration of Black Phone 2 finding its way home this painful holiday season. Check out our conversation below.
Dread Central: From where I’m sitting, fans seem especially excited about the film’s atmosphere. Is that something you’ve been hearing as well?
Scott Derrickson: I’m mostly off social media, so I don’t really see the conversation firsthand. But what’s come to me—through people sending things along—has been really wonderful. The excitement around the atmosphere and the look of the movie is very rewarding, because that’s something I worked exceedingly hard on. I went pretty far down the rabbit hole trying to create an audiovisual experience that exceeded even my own expectations. It wasn’t easy, but I think we pulled it off.
DC: You’ve spoken about Italian horror influences. Do you think American audiences were maybe starved for atmosphere for a while?
SD: I think they were—but not anymore. When you look at films like Hereditary, It Follows, The Witch, Weapons, and Sinners, these are great pieces of cinema that also happen to be great horror films. We’re in a moment now that feels similar to what Italy experienced in the ’70s. Horror is being embraced by serious auteurs, and that wasn’t always the case. In the past, some of our greatest horror films were one-offs from non-genre filmmakers—The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby. Now, horror is the destination.
DC: Do you think audiences are more open to that now than in previous decades?
SD: Absolutely. Audiences are less interested in simple or basic horror. They want deeper dramatic stories, and horror is the perfect vessel for that. That’s really the only way you can explain the success of a film like Sinners. That movie could have existed as great cinema even if there weren’t vampires in it.
DC: One of my favorite aspects of Black Phone 2 is the winter camp setting. You’ve said that’s something you experienced yourself. How would you describe that environment?
SD: I went to winter camps all four years of high school, up in the Rockies, and what stands out most is how violent the environment feels. The wind, the snow, the storms rattling these old wooden structures where you’re sleeping—it’s powerful, especially at night. There’s real danger to it.
But then there’s the contrast. In the morning, when the sun’s out, there’s this quiet, peaceful beauty. There’s a spiritual quality to it that’s both ominous and glorious. The Rockies are unlike anywhere else in the world, and being up there leaves a deep impression. Winter camp, especially, stayed with me.
DC: As a Canadian, I completely get that sense of beauty mixed with danger. As a horror fan, was there something appealing about taking a franchise into winter territory so early?
SD: I didn’t approach it as “I want to make a snow movie.” My favorite filmmaker is Akira Kurosawa, and one of the biggest lessons I learned from his work is that weather is a character. Whether it’s the wind and dust in Yojimbo, the snow in Ikiru, the heat in Stray Dog, or the rain in Rashomon and Seven Samurai, weather is tactile and aggressive and incredibly cinematic.
With the first film, I wanted to capture what it felt like being 12 years old in working-class North Denver in 1978. I didn’t want to repeat that. So I thought about what else shaped my childhood—and that was trips into the mountains. Getting caught in blizzards, seeing cars slide off the road, realizing you might not be safe. That fear comes quickly.
DC: Last question—what’s a horror movie that genuinely scared you as a viewer?
SD: Probably Hell House LLC and Hell House LLC II. They really got to me. What scares me is when something feels grounded and real—when you believe in the characters and the environment, and then the unknown intrudes in aggressive ways. That’s terrifying to me.
Another one would be The Witch. That one unnerved me for days. Hell House LLC, I shook off pretty quickly—but The Witch made me feel contaminated, like I couldn’t shake the evil off. Those are probably the two most effective horror films I’ve seen in the last 10 or 15 years.
Black Phone 2 is now available to buy or run on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital platforms.
Categorized: Interviews News
