13 Nights of Shocktober: Mr. Harrigan's Phone

by A.J. 

Night 10: Stephen King Night

“All of us need to be very frightened by this gizmo.”

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone

Earlier this year The Life of Chuck was released in theaters to either deeply affected or puzzled audiences. It reminded me of another recent curious adaptation of a Stephen King story, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. Both stories were published in the collection If It Bleeds and they share similar themes (both deal with the supernatural to some extent and are unconventional coming of age stories) even though they are quite different in subject matter. They would make an interesting double feature. Call it The Boy and the Beyond double feature. 

Somewhere in the rows of chaotic mayhem that is Netflix, you can find Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. It is not a horror movie, not really. In the tradition of gothic literature, it is not a ghost story but a story with a ghost. The film begins in 2003 when young Craig is offered a job reading books aloud to old Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland), a wealthy and reclusive retired businessman who enjoyed Craig’s readings at the local church. Years pass and teenaged Craig (Jaeden Martell) receives an iPhone for Christmas; he loves it. After one of the scratch off lottery tickets Mr. Harrigan gives to Craig for Christmas pays off big, Craig uses part of the winnings to buy an iPhone for Mr. Harrigan. Harrigan is thankful but has no interest in the phone until Craig shows him the stocks app that updates in real time and the free access to the most current edition of the Wall Street Journal. 

Being a shrewd businessman, Mr. Harrigan foresees all of the possibilities and consequences of smart phones. Companies giving away their product for free can’t last forever and eventually people will have to pay. But will people pay, or go looking for other free news and entertainment sources, even if the source is questionable? King’s story heavily ponders the consequences and effects of smartphones and addictive technologies. This is present in the movie too but blends into the story and characters well so the movie never feels like it is preaching or trying to be prescient. 

When Mr. Harrigan passes away, as a final gesture Craig puts Mr. Harrigan’s phone in his suit pocket. Feeling lonely one night, Craig calls Harrigan’s phone and leaves a message. Then he receives a reply, a garbled text from Mr. Harrigan’s phone. Later, Craig calls Mr. Harrigan’s phone and leaves a message about a violent bully. The next morning he finds out the bully died suddenly. 

There are not really any scares but there is a sense of unease that pervades throughout the movie, especially after that iPhone makes its first appearance. Craig’s investigation about the mysterious deaths provides some answers but also more questions. Further text messages from Mr. Harrigan from beyond the grave only bring with more unease and more death. 

There is something gentle to this story of a teenage boy whose best friend is an old reclusive billionaire. Some scenes and music choices play with heartstrings, but there is also a pall over every scene. The decision Craig makes about his phone in the final scene may not be satisfying because it is likely the same decision we would make.

Mr. Harrigan's Phone is available to stream on Netflix.