This review is based on a screening which took place at the 2025 Fantastic Fest Film Festival. Black Phone 2 will be released theatrically in the United States on October 17. In the wrong hands, sequels can be predatory pursuits. When studio executives watch films like Sinister or The Black Phone amass healthy box office returns, the desire to double-dip burns like an inferno. Dollar signs (can or might) outweigh creative pursuits. But in the right hands, a sequel broadens new ideas and spawns fresh potential. A sequel can unlock storytelling you'd never expect. Director Scott Derrickson and his co-writer C. Robert Cargill refuse to let Black Phone 2 be another redundant Hollywood cash-in, and by their efforts, bring us as close to Freddy Krueger as we'll get until there's another A Nightmare on Elm Street. The Black Phone wasn’t intended to have a sequel, based on a one-off Joe Hill story as it was. Derrickson and Cargill are in uncharted territory, which becomes...
This review is based on a screening which took place at the 2025 Fantastic Fest Film Festival. Sisu: Road to Revenge will be released theatrically in the United States on November 21.
What if Sisu, but instead of brutally massacring Nazis, it's brutally massacring Red Army soldiers? That's the premise for Sisu: Road to Revenge, Jalmari Helander’s follow-up to 2023’s ultra-violent World War II action spectacle. As a fan of the original, I'm not sure which I enjoy more—not a bad problem to have. Helander unleashes "the man who cannot die" to dole out Soviet-era justice with buckets full of bullets, doubling down on ’80s genre intensity that doesn't give a hoot about anything but gunsmoke entertainment through extreme measures.
Jorma Tommila stars as the now legendary Aatami Korpi, a former Finnish Army commando who singlehandedly defeated a gang of rogue Nazis. At this point, all he cares about is transporting the disassembled lumber from his cherished home across the Soviet Union’s border. Unfortunately, the murderous bastard who killed Korpi's family, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), is released from prison with one mission: to eliminate the myth that is Aatami Korpi. It's that simple. Korpi drives towards salvation with his beloved wooden planks and faithful pooch while Draganov sets an interception course. One man versus the might of the Soviet army—luckily Korpi doesn't care about the odds.
Sisu: Road to Revenge wastes no time turning into a bloody good road-rager littered with corpses. There's almost no spoken dialogue, but who needs conversation when violence does all the talking? Draganov's minions try their hardest by land and air to snuff out the determined Finnish gold prospector, but it's all so gloriously futile. Those who've seen Sisu understand that Korpi is basically invincible, driven by nothing but bravery and willpower in the face of Axis evils. Helander's almost playing by superhero rules, which fits the cartoonishly merciless tone he puts forth. It all makes sense, and it's all delivered with such powerful impact.
Tommila's performance is paramount to the sequel's success, spitting nothing but grit and steel-toed perseverance. He's a resourceful assassin who can maneuver around everything from incoming fighter pilot bulletstorms to motorbike grunts with iron shields protecting their domes. You'd think the gimmick might run out of steam, but Tommila's doing his best dirt-covered John McClane without catchphrases. The way he channels a broken soul who merely wants to respect his deceased loved ones makes him scarier than John Wick, but also garners more empathy. As Korpi turns aggressors into mincemeat and lays waste to Soviet ranks, you can't help but cheer.
Even better, Sisu: Road to Revenge indulges in extravagance. It's not just about some headshots or slit throats. Korpi is a pure-hearted boogeyman who weaponizes everything from unused missiles to the very planks of wood on his truck to avoid certain death. He collects wounds from shattered vodka bottles like badges of honor, and while his pain threshold is inhuman, ridiculousness is what keeps us so engaged. Helander's emphasis on heroism and vanquishing evil is as subtle as a shark attack, yet it's precisely what the world needs more of right now. This one's for the B-Movie crowd, reworking stunts from The A-Team or Fast & Furious as 1940s period hilarity. The intensity of a WWII Mad Max: Fury Road meets the straightforward redemption of Inglourious Basterds, because if Sisu wasn't broke, why fix it?
The additions of character actors Stephen Lang and Richard Brake, as Draganov's commanding officer, are all the film needs. Brake's inherently detestable typecasting sets a quick and sinister tone, while the Russian-accented Lang makes for a ruthless adversary. Draganov's personality is like a Bond villain who commits war crimes, positioned against such a benevolent protagonist with the most straightforward intentions. It's a breath of fresh air versus action flicks that overcomplicate motivations, as Korpi's primal survival instincts heighten the further Draganov pushes. Lang's built to be the cruel mongrel who would kill women and children without a blink, much like how Tommila is a fantastic voice for the voiceless (fists for the fistless, more appropriately), fighting back against history's storied bastards.
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