Netflix and Chills: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022)

“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is a heartwarming tale of an unexpected friendship, with a Stephen King-esque twist that keeps you invested.

Director John Lee Hancock, known for his work on The Blind Side, The Highway Men, and Saving Mr. Banks, takes on a Stephen King Short Story from King’s collection of stories in If It Bleeds. The result is a film that will challenge your thoughts and leave you pondering long after the credits roll.

The film beautifully documents the slow progression of a growing friendship between Craig, the movie’s protagonist, and the initially disliked but ultimately endearing Mr. Harrigan, portrayed by the talented Donald Sutherland.

Craig is dealing with the loss of his mother and his father’s withdrawal from it, leaving him feeling alone. So, when Mr. Harrigan offers to pay him to read to him three days a week, Craig accepts. What starts as a job develops into a strong friendship. One Christmas, Craig buys Mr. Harrigan a cell phone so they can communicate more often, even creating ring tones to identify them to each other.

Five years later, Mr. Harrigan passes away, and Craig, unwilling to let go, slips Mr. Harrigan’s phone into the casket with him. He wasn’t expecting any response but needed the comfort of knowing he was still talking to his friend.

One day, after getting beaten up by the school bully, Kenny, Craig tells his friend what happened, then ends the message with the message he wishes Mr. Harrigan was there to give him advice.

Craig hears “Stand by your Man,” Mr. Harrigan’s ring tone, and looks at the phone. Mr. Harrigan typed back. Kenny Yankovich is dead.

What follows is a white-knuckle journey into what is real and what is not.

Is Mr. Harrigan talking to Craig from the grave, and is the communication to help Craig or hurt him?

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone provides a unique viewpoint on the strength of love and friendship in surviving beyond the grave. It is a thought-provoking exploration of what happens when we die and the enduring power of our connections.

Instead of the usual protagonist being chased or hunted by a monster or killed by a curse, we have a sensitive young man trying to maneuver the pitfalls of life without the direction of an adult. His father, not meaning to abandon him, did so because he was dealing with his grief. Craig didn’t fit in with the other students, which became more pronounced as he matured.

When Mr. Harrigan, a filthy rich but lonely elderly recluse, offered him a job, Craig accepted. He did so even though the ruthless Mr. Harrigan was widely hated and gossiped about by the townspeople. Craig had ambitions of escaping the pain of his past and making a new life for himself, and he hoped the money he earned working for Mr. Harrigan could help him do that. 

The film’s cinematography is as subtle as the story, with nothing to jar the viewer. It’s now showy but offers meaningful glimpses of secrets that pull the viewer along, similar to a detective finding clues to solve a mystery.

In a large part, this movie is best described as a mystery/thriller. 

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is not an ‘in your face’ horror or slasher movie but a simmering pot that slowly builds to a boil and makes you think.

John Lee Hancock, who also wrote the script, develops this unlikely friendship one pearl at a time.

You will not like this movie if you want only non-stop action thrills, with lots of slashing and jump scares. This isn’t the kind of film for adrenaline junkies. 

Many will argue that, despite adapting a King story, Mr. Hannigan’s Phone is not actually a horror film. It’s more of a supernatural mystery with strong themes of the lasting power of friendship. It’s about moving on after loss and about how, as much as you might want revenge, holding on to anger can be a slow and agonizing way to die an emotional death. 

This director, known for family-friendly films, makes an easy and competent transition into horror. He leverages the power of a great story helmed by the master of horror and delivers an emotionally layered film adaptation with well-developed characters. 

Horror purists may find it lacking, but anyone craving a compelling film with depth should find much to appreciate in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.