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Oct 5, 2022 · The master of horror’s 2020 collection If It Bleeds opened with a wonderful little ghost story called “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” which is now a Netflix original horror film from John Lee Hancock, the director of “The Rookie” and "The Blind Side."
Despite a pair of layered performances from its talented leads, Mr. Harrigan's Phone never quite connects with the source material's intriguing themes. Read Critics Reviews. Slow and...
- (66)
- John Lee Hancock
- PG-13
- Donald Sutherland
Oct 6, 2022 · Based on a Stephen King story, the John Lee Hancock movie tells the story of a teenager who appears to receive calls and texts from his mysterious former employer, Mr. Harrigan, who has...
Oct 3, 2022 · Harrigan’s Phone is a horror story all about being addicted to your smartphone. This review contains spoilers for Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (the book and the movie).
- An old-fashioned ghost story that sadly just phones it in.
- The 12 Best Stephen King Movies
- What’s the best Stephen King adaptation?
- Verdict
By Ryan Leston
Updated: Oct 8, 2022 1:59 pm
Posted: Oct 6, 2022 2:30 pm
Mr. Harrigan's Phone is now streaming on Netflix.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is an old-fashioned, almost-gothic ghost story, and based on a Stephen King short story, it’s exactly the kind of scare we need in time for Halloween, right? Well, it would be… if it was any good. Instead, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone squanders its intriguing setup to tell a limp, ineffective cautionary tale through the lens of a supernatural thriller. Even its modern twist feels more like a one-note lecture about our addiction to smartphones.
What’s worse is that this potentially terrifying tale does almost nothing of any horror value throughout its overly long runtime. There are no jump scares, no dream sequences, no monsters, no gore, or anything remotely resembling a hefty-enough scare to warrant calling this a horror film. Instead, director John Lee Hancock spends an hour and 45 minutes meandering around a half-baked moral lesson that tells us two things: smartphones are bad, and killing people is also bad. Perhaps I’m over-simplifying… but not by much.
The saving grace is the heart-warming friendship between the enigmatic Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland) and Craig (Jaeden Martell), a young boy who takes a job reading novels to the aging billionaire three times a week. Things get more interesting, albeit briefly, when Harrigan dies, and Craig begins to realize that he can still communicate with his dead friend via a smartphone that was buried with him. It’s a strangely intriguing concept, isn’t it? Sadly, it never really goes anywhere.
Sutherland plays Mr. Harrigan with a mysteriousness that leaves you wondering whether he’s a good man or something else entirely, and this would work incredibly well if it actually paid off in any way. But Mr. Harrigan himself remains as inert as the film’s script, removing any hint of dramatic tension in favor of a rather pedestrian tale of friendship. Equally, Martell works well as Craig, a young man who just wants to find out where he fits in the world. Of course, you’ll recognise him from Stephen King’s It – a far more horrific adaptation. Here, he juggles an over-sentimental script with grace while trying to inject his flaccid lines with some sense of urgency. Unfortunately, it never quite works, and the film soon becomes a coming-of-age story rather than any kind of horror or supernatural thriller.
Carrie (1976)
The Shining (1980)
Stand By Me (1986)
Misery (1990)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Green Mile (1999)
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is a frustratingly lifeless drama masquerading as a supernatural thriller. No scares will be found here as the film drags out its far-too-long runtime to tell a story that really isn’t worth watching. Some solid performances by Donald Sutherland and Jaeden Martell give us a glimpse at a tender friendship that transcends generat...
Oct 6, 2022 · Add “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” to the relatively short list of really good Stephen King adaptations, garnishing a coming-of-age story with understated hints of the supernatural and thoughtful...
Oct 5, 2022 · Mr. Harrigan's Phone: Directed by John Lee Hancock. With Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Joe Tippett, Colin O'Brien. When Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig, the teen who befriended and did odd jobs for him, puts his smart phone in his pocket before burial.
