Ethan Hawke’s Grabber takes a cue from Freddy Krueger in the horror sequel.

Black Phone 2 ending explained: How do you defeat a supernatural Grabber?

Ethan Hawke's Grabber takes a cue from Freddy Krueger in the horror sequel.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on *The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer*, and many other publications.

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January 16, 2026 1:15 p.m. ET

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Ethan Hawke as the Grabber in 'Black Phone 2'. Credit:

Sabrina Lantos/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

- *Black Phone 2* finds Ethan Hawke reprising his role as the Grabber for a *Nightmare on Elm Street*-inspired sequel.

- Director Scott Derrickson is open to a third entry.

- The film is now streaming on Peacock.

The Grabber goes to camp in *Black Phone 2. *

Scott Derrickson's sequel to the 2021 Blumhouse horror hit earned a not-too-shabby $132 million following its October 2025 release, and is now streaming on Peacock.

Set in 1982, four years after the events of its predecessor, *Black Phone 2* transports Finn (Mason Thames) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) to a *Friday the 13th*-style campground (albeit one buried in snow). But it's *A Nightmare on Elm Street*, not *Friday*, that informs the subsequent horror, which sees the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) haunting Gwen's dreams despite being killed by Finn at the conclusion of the first film.

Like Freddy Krueger, the damage the Grabber inflicts as Gwen sleeps carries into the real world, making him a uniquely different adversary than he was previously.

"Now we're in that territory of, what is the spiritual relationship to a dead person?" Hawke said of the sequel in a chat with **. "I'm not really playing him anymore. I'm playing some spirit-world version of him. So it's much more fantastical in my mind. He just came to symbolize sin."

Below, we dig into how Gwen's dreams fuel the narrative, the trick to overcoming this ephemeral iteration of Grabber, and if we can expect a third entry in this budding franchise.**

How is the Grabber connected to Alpine Lake Camp?

Finn (Mason Thames), Ernesto (Miguel Mora) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) in 'Black Phone 2'.

Sabrina Lantos/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

Dreams (and dream logic) abound in *Black Phone 2*, which begins with Gwen enduring violent night terrors about young boys who were murdered at the nearby Alpine Lake Camp in 1957, 25 years prior to the events of the sequel.

After learning that their mother, Hope (Anna Lore), was at the camp when the murders occurred, Gwen convinces her brother and a friend, Ernesto (Miguel Mora), to travel there. They reach their destination, but a blizzard traps them at the camp alongside supervisor Armando (Demián Bichir) and a handful of employees.

It's here that the Grabber resurfaces, tormenting Finn through the camp's (supposedly disconnected) payphone and viciously attacking Gwen in her dreams.

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Ethan Hawke is finally ready to embrace his inner villain

So, why has the Grabber suddenly reappeared? Well, it turns out he used to work in maintenance at the camp, where he was known as "Wild Bill Hickok" and was familiar with both Armando and Hope. Recalling how the dead kids in her dreams carved out the letters "WBH" in the ice, Gwen deduces that they were telling her the Grabber was responsible for their deaths.

After speaking with Armando, who has spent years searching for the children's missing bodies, Gwen develops a theory for why the Grabber returned to the camp. Since the three boys were never found, their spirits are not at rest. The resulting fear from their unsettled souls gives the Grabber's spirit power. If they can find the boys' bodies, they can bring them peace, thus defeating the Grabber.**

Armando recalls how Wild Bill was a solid ice skater who set up hockey games on a nearby lake. This gives him reason to believe the corpses were dumped in the water, and he vows to help Gwen recover them.

Why is the Grabber haunting Gwen’s dreams?

Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), Mustang (Arianna Rivas) and Ernesto (Miguel Mora) in 'Black Phone 2'.

Sabrina Lantos/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

You'd think the Grabber would want revenge on Finn, what with Finn having killed him in *Black Phone*. Well, he does, but he believes he can hurt Finn more by first killing his sister. After all, the Grabber blames Finn for the death of his own brother, Max (James Ransone).

"You will pay for what you did to me," he tells Finn. "You made me kill my brother, the person on Earth that I loved the most. And then you killed me. So now I am going to destroy you, Finn, by destroying the thing you love the most. Vengeance is mine."

How is the Grabber connected to Finn and Gwen’s mother?

Ethan Hawke as the Grabber in 'Black Phone 2'.

Sabrina Lantos/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

*Black Phone 2* reveals that the Grabber's connection to Finn and Gwen is more personal than they realized. Not only did the killer know Hope at camp, but he reveals to Gwen in a dream that he's also responsible for Hope's death, which Finn, Gwen, and their father (Jeremy Davies) believed to be a suicide.

You see, Hope had psychic abilities not unlike those we see in Gwen, including supernatural dreams. Years after leaving the camp, she dreamed of Wild Bill kidnapping a local paperboy. When she went to the Grabber's house in search of the boy, he snatched her, then staged a hanging at her home to make it appear as if she killed herself.

Does Gwen find the boys’ bodies?

The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) in 'Black Phone 2'.

Robin Cymbaly/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

Eventually, yes, though the Grabber tries to stop Gwen, Finn, and Armando from searching the lake by attempting to shatter the ice on which they stand. The logic is strained here, but so long as Gwen is dreaming, the Grabber can tangibly impact everyone and everything in her orbit.

As the Grabber terrorizes those on the ice (and tries to choke out Finn), Gwen (in her dream state) dives into the water in search of the missing boys. She finds their decades-old corpses in barrels at the bottom of the lake, thus diminishing the Grabber's power. Gwen takes an axe to the Grabber, then gives him over to the spirits of the boys, who drag him into the water. There, he freezes in its icy depths.

"Where'd he go?" Finn asks.

"The boys took him back to where he belongs," replies Gwen.**

How does* Black Phone 2* end?

Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) and The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in 'Black Phone 2'.

Sabrina Lantos/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

With the boys found, Armando is finally able to call their parents and bring closure. Gwen, meanwhile, receives a call on the camp's payphone. Echoing an earlier dream, in which she and her teenage mother had a phone conversation across time, the call is from her mother.

Hope praises her for saving the boys, saying she set them free and that they're "where they belong" now. "Will I always be this cursed?" Gwen asks, referring to her powers. "It's not a curse, baby," her mother says. "It was never a curse."

Will there be a Black Phone 3?

Finn (Mason Thames) and The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) in 'Black Phone 2'.

Sabrina Lantos/Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

As of this writing, there are no official plans for a third *Black Phone* movie. Considering the box office success of the sequel, though, there's a good chance one will be announced soon.

Derrickson told *Variety* in October that he'll only make a third film if it's "better than the second one." He added, "What would be important to me in considering any ideas is that it’s just not a retread, and that we don’t feel like we’re seeing, 'Oh, now we establish this new rule for the Grabber. So let’s just do that again.' That’s the only thing I couldn’t do."

Hawke, for his part, would be thrilled to return. "I would like to go to hell with the Grabber," he told EW. "That's what I'd like to do. I'd like to get to know him. That would be my dream for the third one, to let it be a character piece about what made him, who he is now, and how he's haunting other people's dreams."**

Where can I watch Black Phone 2?

*Black Phone 2* is currently available to stream on Peacock.

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Source: “EW Horror”