Even though “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” starts off with the same promise as other films based on Stephen King’s books, it ultimately falls flat. The new Netflix film, based on a novella of the same name, follows a youngster named Craig as he goes through a series of paranormal encounters following the death of an old man he was close to named Mr. Harrigan.
There are some mystical events and hints of adolescent discovery of life and morality, but “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is ultimately forgettable for all of these reasons.
‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone Plot Summary: What Is the Film About?
In the film’s opening narration, the protagonist, Craig, describes his hometown of Harlow, Maine, as a “quaint village” with only a few significant landmarks and a larger town by the name of Gates Falls nearby.
After leaving Harlow for good in the present day, Craig talks about growing up there and the weird things that happened to him. Craig’s mother died when he was still a little boy, and the tragic event left a lasting mark on him and his father.
While Craig’s father had lost all motivation to work and live following the loss of his love, Craig held the naive and unfounded conviction that he could have stopped his mother’s untimely demise.
Around this time, Mr. Harrigan, the richest man in Harlow and a billionaire in his own right, began to take an interest in him. Craig’s father was called to see a wealthy old man who had taken an interest in the young kid after hearing him read during church services.
As he lost his eyesight, Mr. Harrigan soon recruited Craig to make daily visits to his mansion so that he could listen to Craig read aloud from a wide variety of books.
Despite the fact that young Craig accepted this position at Mr. Harrigan’s business originally for the money and perhaps even the company, he grew a deep and caring bond with his employer over the course of the next five years.
After getting to know the old man on a personal level, Craig was curious about who he was and searched up the billionaire online. It appears that Mr. Harrigan was a businessman who had a history of employees complaining about his strong-willed and rather a cruel personality, leading some of his employees to take their own lives.
Craig entered his freshman year of high school at Gates Falls and ran into conflict with the school bully right away. He casually discussed it with Mr. Harrigan, who was instructed by the old man that, just as he had done with his own bullies and rivals in school and business, he, too, should deal with them ruthlessly.
Mr. Harrigan’s icy demeanor didn’t strike Craig as particularly strange or cause for concern until after a series of disturbing incidents transpired under his watch.
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Mr. Harrigan’s Phone Ending, Explained
Gods punish us when they want to hear our requests. In this Netflix movie, Mr. Harrigan quotes this line to Craig.
To test the answering machine, Craig dialed Mr. Harrigan’s number and conversed with the voice he had previously recorded. He told Kenny how frustrated he was and how he felt that Dean should be held accountable for his behavior.
Audiences could infer that either Craig or someone he told about the deaths was responsible for both of them based on the similarities in their methods of execution.
The second murder particularly affected Craig deeply, and he became distressed.
The burden of guilt felt by the college student makes Wilde’s phrase seem all too accurate. To what end would the gods wish Craig’s punishment? Maybe because of what he’s planning to do to other people? Still, he had no ill will against Kenny.
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Mr. Harrigan’s Phone Shows Us how People Are Married to Their Cellular Devices
Kenny was discovered close to his residence with a polished bottle in his hand. The bottle of shoe polish was the same one he had used to harass Craig. The teen only confided in Mr. Harrigan and never told anyone else about what happened. He also mentioned his problems with the bully on the phone, and they were, for lack of a better word, resolved.
The fact that his teacher’s killer used her favorite soap to clean the murder scene is another example of how the phone was given all the information it needed to solve the case.
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So that Mr. Harrigan could keep in touch with the world above ground, Craig tucked his phone into his pocket. The bonds of mortality remained with Harrigan even after he had reverted to dust.
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