Say hello to two of the biggest breakout stars of 2022,The Black Phone’sMason ThamesandMadeleine McGraw.
The story takes place in a small town in Denver in the 1970s. Thames and McGraw are Finney and Gwen, a brother and sister who are always there for each other whether it’s to fend off bullies or to support each other at home where they live with an abusive father (Jeremy Davies). Things take an even darker turn for the pair when Finney becomes the latest target of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a local kidnapper who’s already claimed the lives of a number of victims. The Grabber thinks he gives himself the upper hand by confining Finney to a soundproof basement, but little does he know, Finney has a very determined sister who’ll stop at nothing to find him.
In celebration ofThe Black Phone’s theatrical release, I got the chance to chat with Thames and McGraw about their experience making the movie. If you’re a big horror fan, you may not be familiar with Madeleine McGraw’s work just yet, but you have likely seen her younger sisterViolet McGrawin a couple of very popular titles,The Haunting of Hill HouseandDoctor Sleep. So what is it about the McGraws and horror? Are they both naturally drawn to the genre? Here’s what Madeleine McGraw said:
“We love horror. We love going to Hollywood Horror Nights at Universal Studios. We want to go again this year. It’s so exciting. I think it’s because we both love that heart drop feeling. But we love watching scary movies together because then after we get scared, we can just laugh about it.”
When it comes to tackling scary material, Violet McGraw did have some advice for her big sister. Madeleine McGraw added:
“I guess I would say I was a little scared because it’s a horror movie and she was like, ‘You just have to remember, when you’re watching it, it’s all fake.’ Because she does get scared at times too, even though she knows it’s all fake, but it’s like, it’s not scary when you’re on set, but then when you watch the movie it’s terrifying.”
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As for Thames,The Black Phonemarks a pretty big first for the young star. This is the very first time he’s playing the lead role in a feature film. While one’s got to imagine that’s a mighty intimidating challenge to tackle, Thames insisted he had the support he needed to make the absolute most of the opportunity:
“I think most of that’s coming from, of course, Maddie. She’s so incredible, and everybody on that cast and crew is super nice. It kind of felt like I was joining a brand new family. Everybody was super incredible and it was such a great opportunity, and I’m so glad I got the chance to do it.”
It’s a good thing Thames and McGraw were surrounded by a very supportive cast and crew, because they’ve got a slew of extremely emotional and intense scenes on their hands with this one. When revisiting the most intimidating days on the filming schedule, McGraw immediately pinpointed one particular scene she filmed with Davies that’s especially tough to shake:
“I think there was two. Or maybe one, because I love doing stunts so getting to do all the technical, physical scenes was really fun. But probably my most intense scene with Jeremy Davies who plays Terrence, our dad in it, that’s the one. I was scared and excited, and I think it turned out amazing on camera.”
As for Thames, he highlighted the scenes he shares with Hawke towards the tail end of the film:
“For me it was definitely a ton of scenes with Ethan, but there was the climatic battle where I was super, super excited and kind of scared to do it. But watching the film, it turned out great.”
Looking for more from Thames and McGraw? You can watch our full conversation in the video interview at the top of this article!
