The Black Phone True Story of Mask: How It Was Born And Who Inspired It
The mask worn by the Kidnapper of The Black Phone was invented and created specifically for Scott Derrickson’s film… but it has an interesting historical origin. Black Phone is inspired by a short story written by Joe Hill in 2004 and adapted into a screenplay by C. Robert Cargill. In the original story, there is no mask and the Grabber (as the murderous kidnapper played by Ethan Hawke is called in the original version) has another profession. Why did the writers make these changes, which turned out to be successful? The fault (or the credit) is It and Pennywise.
The Black Phone: The Killer Should Have Been A Clown
If like us you thought that Black Phone was very reminiscent of IT and other Stephen King stories, you were right. The author of the short story from which it is based, Joe Hill, is the son of the King of Terror. The author explained that he had read his father’s novel as a child, being terrified of the murderous clown Pennywise:
As a kid, I read It. I was 12, and 13 years old. It fucked my brain. I loved it and I loved the movie.
When in 2004 he wrote the short story The Black Phone, Hill drew inspiration from Pennywise for his kidnapper of children (but also from a real serial killer). But when she started working on the film with Blumhouse, Pennywise had already experienced an incredible return in popularity thanks to the two-part film remake directed by Andy Muschietti. 2017’s It and its sequel convinced Hill and Cargill to change their villain a bit:
America has room in its heart for only a given number of evil clowns. We chose to make our villain a part-time wizard.
This is the profession of the Black Phone Kidnapper: the magician. The mask with diabolical features is connected to this work. Illusionism and magic have always been two interests of the writer and the screenwriter of the film. Hill thought of the mask as referring to a very popular tradition in the profession of illusionist in the 1920s and 1930s, in the United States:
We researched magicians and illusionists fighting evil in their numbers. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was common in magic shows for the wizard to appear disguised as a devil or evil sorcerer. After playing the devil, the magician would slip behind a curtain and return to the stage without a mask, doing some magic to defeat evil.
Cargill explained that therefore Hawke doesn’t take off his mask or wear a bandana that has the same features over his mouth. It is as if he is “stuck” between the two characters he plays and passes from one to the other putting on or taking off the mask
Why is The Black Phone Kidnapper Wearing A Mask?
Joe Hill and C. Robert Cargill were inspired by the wizards who performed in the 1920s and 1930s in America, wearing demonic masks to play evil, who then fought with magic and tricks by taking off the disguise and playing (also) the role of the good ones.
What Does The Black Phone Kidnapper Mask Represent?
The devil. Joe Hill and C. Robert Cargill drew inspiration from wizards who performed in the 1920s and 1930s in America, wearing demonic masks to play evil. The Kidnapper says he’s a part-time wizard.
Why Does The Killer Never Take Off His Mask In Black Phone?
According to writer Joe Hill and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill, it is as if he were “stuck” between two characters he plays like a magician: that of the good illusionist and that of the devil who kidnaps and harms children. If he took off the mask, perhaps he could not commit violence and murder: he needs the mask to immerse himself in the character.
