For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the Night 17 prompt is Don’t Answer the Phone.We watched the movie Mr. Harrigans Phone on Netflix.

Storyline

Craig, a young boy living in a small town, befriends 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, and finds himself able to communicate with his friend from the grave through the iPhone that was buried with him.

Our Thoughts on Mr. Harrigans Phone

Just because it’s a Stephen King story, doesn’t mean it’s a horror. Think Stand By Me, Hearts in Atlantis. This could be easily turned into a horror, but it’s not.

The premise is simple: young Craig is hired by Mr Harrigan to read for him. As a teen, Craig teaches Mr Harrigan to use an iPhone. (Mr Harrigan can no longer read books but can read a phone screen?) Then, Mr Harrigan dies. Craig slips the phone into his pocket. Them weird things happen, like Mr Harrigan’s buried phone texting Craig.

The story could very easily be turned into a horror, but this is far more gentle. Think Hearts in Atlantis. It’s a slow burn, a quiet story, something to think about. Good a movie night but nothing spectacular.

6 out of 10 stars

Trivia 

Actor Jaeden Martell has also appeared in other films based on the works of author Stephen King; portraying a young Bill Denbrough in ‘It’ (2017) and ‘It: Chapter Two’ (2019).

Unlike It, this movie is adapted from a shorter work rather than a full-fledged novel. John Lee Hancock adapted the screenplay from the Stephen King novella of the same name. The novella “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is included in King’s collection If It Bleeds.