OVERLAY REPORT

In the film *The Black Phone* (2021), there are several deaths, ranging from the central antagonist to his past victims. The following characters meet their end: ### **1. The Grabber (Albert)** The primary antagonist, played by Ethan Hawke, is the final person to die in the film. * **How he died:** He is killed by his latest victim, **Finney**, in the film's climax. Finney uses a multi-layered trap involving advice and tools provided by the ghosts of previous victims: * Finney trips The Grabber with a hidden cable, causing him to fall into a pit Finney had dug earlier. * In the fall, The Grabber breaks his ankle on a metal window grate at the bottom of the pit. * Finney then bludgeons him repeatedly with the black phone receiver, which he had packed with dirt to give it more weight. * Finally, while The Grabber is being taunted by the voices of his victims over the phone, Finney wraps the phone cord around his neck and snaps it, killing him instantly. ### **2. Max (The Grabber’s Brother)** Max is The Grabber's eccentric, drug-addicted brother who is staying in the house and is unknowingly living above the basement where the children are held. * **How he died:** After finally piecing together the clues and realizing his brother is "The Grabber," Max rushes into the basement to find Finney. Just as he discovers him, The Grabber enters the room and kills Max by **striking him in the head/skull with an axe**. The Grabber later expresses frustration that he "had" to kill his own brother. ### **3. The Five Previous Victims (Ghosts)** The following boys were abducted and murdered by The Grabber before the events of the film or during its early acts. While their deaths occur off-screen, their spectral appearances provide clues as to how they were killed: * **Bruce Yamada:** Abducted while riding his bike. He is the first ghost to contact Finney. * **Billy Showalter:** A paperboy whose face appears **slashed and bloodied** as a ghost, suggesting he was cut or beaten severely. * **Griffin Stagg:** A younger boy who provides the combination to the bike lock. His ghost is depicted with a **slit throat and a broken neck** (bending over backwards), indicating a violent, physical end. * **Vance Hopper:** A neighborhood delinquent whom even Finney feared. He appears bloodied and angry, though the specific cause of death isn't explicitly detailed beyond The Grabber's "game." * **Robin Arellano:** Finney's friend and protector. He is abducted shortly after Bruce. While he appears relatively intact as a ghost, he was murdered off-screen after being held in the basement. ### **4. Finney and Gwen’s Mother** Though her death occurs years before the film begins, it is central to the plot and the characters' trauma. * **How she died:** She **committed suicide** (reportedly by slashing her throat). The film implies that she, like her daughter Gwen, possessed psychic abilities that drove her to madness and eventually took her life because she could not handle the visions. ### **Summary of Causes** | Character | Manner of Death | | :--- | :--- | | **The Grabber** | Neck snapped with a telephone cord by Finney. | | **Max** | Axe to the head by The Grabber. | | **Billy Showalter** | Murdered off-screen (implied slashing/beating). | | **Griffin Stagg** | Murdered off-screen (implied throat slit/broken neck). | | **Bruce, Vance, Robin** | Murdered off-screen by The Grabber after his "Naughty Boy" game. | | **Mrs. Blake (Mother)** | Suicide via self-inflicted wounds (pre-movie). |