Black Phone 2 has Christian roots, but isn’t a ‘faith-based film’

TheBlack Phoneand the new sequel Black Phone 2 are a notable exception. Director Scott Derrickson and his longtime screenwriting partner C. Robert Cargill — also the duo behind Sinister and Sinister 2, among other horror projects — both identify as Christian. That emerges in their frankness about Christianity in the Black Phone movies, and particularly about “bad Christians” in Black Phone 2. But as they told Polygon in an interview after Black Phone 2’s world premiere at the 2025 Fantastic Fest, that doesn’t mean they want to be called “Christian filmmakers.” Even using the phrase made Derrickson visibly flinch.