This month, I’ve been taking part in the Letterboxd Hooptober challenge. The goal is to watch 31 horror films in October, including films that meet specific criteria such as “directed by Wes Craven” or starring a black woman.
I’m posting my thoughts on each of the movies here, as and when I get time. If you want to follow along in real time, my Hooptober list is available here.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
Some connections never die.
Craig, a young boy living in a small town befriends an older, reclusive billionaire, Mr. Harrigan. The two form a bond over books and an iPhone, but when the man passes away the boy discovers that not everything dead is gone.
There are a lot of really great Stephen King films. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is not one of them.
This is a Netflix film, which lowered the bar, but even so, I was hoping the cast and the source material would make up for the general mediocrity of most Netflix films. And Donald Sutherland was great, but the film just doesn’t go anywhere.
I haven’t read the original story, but it felt like the plot was just a vehicle for a statement on the negative impact of cell phones and social media on the world. I don’t disagree with the sentiment, but I kept waiting for things to take a darker, more horrific turn.
And they just didn’t.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone gives us a Donald Sutherland film for the Hooptober challenge, but I should have gone with Don’t Look Now.
[Hooptober 11 – Mr. Harrigan’s Phone by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 26th October 2024]