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Simply Perfect

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Good concept, poorly executed.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This modern Hollywood horror thriller tackles the touchy subject of EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon for the uninitiated. EVP is a real-life development in which the voices of the dead are said to be communicated via static – either on a radio, or more commonly a television set (I remember reading a story about a guy living in a caravan who saw his dead dog on the telly!). WHITE NOISE is actually a pretty darn effective chiller which expertly builds a sense of dread thanks to the spooky sequences involving white noise itself – anyone who doesn't get a shudder or two down their spine has to be a dead weight. The film is dark but well shot, with some stark photography; it's got that X-FILES feel to it, but better than THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES.Michael Keaton, who ain't been up to much lately, is great in the leading role, proving himself to be a believable leading man despite all the supernatural stuff going on around. The female support isn't so memorable, but then this is a film where nobody else really gets a look in. The camera stays close to Keaton's tired, lined face and it works just fine. The other great performance is from Ian McNeice as the kooky guy who initially gets Keaton into the subject; McNeice is one of those actors you see in dozens of movies over the years but are never sure who he is. Well, hopefully this will get him a little more recognition because he's fine.The suspense and mystery aspects of the story are handled well, with a good atmosphere of mounting dread being conjured up. The weird white noise scare scenes are genuinely jolting, and it's just a shame that the lacklustre ending of the movie – yep, it takes place in an abandoned factory, once again – is so predictable. There are too many surprises and twists in a short space of time, the CGI effects which inevitably have to turn up spoil the whole realism of the thing, and to put it plainly, it's just dumb. Still, for the most part, WHITE NOISE is a frightening spooker which has much in common with modern Japanese horror fare like DARK WATER.

White Noise (2005): Dir: Geoffrey Sax / Cast: Michael Keaton, Ian McNeice, Deborah Kara Unger, Chandra West, Mike Dopud: Lame thriller about elements that are heard but not necessarily seen or felt. Michael Keaton's wife is killed in an accident and he is approached by a stranger who claims that his wife has been communicating through air waves. Keaton discards this until he receives a cell phone call from his wife's line. He goes through heavy research to communicate with his wife but discovers that he is being given information regarding crimes before they occur. Fine idea that fades into formula until reaching a lame conclusion that is about as stupid as the visiting aliens concluding The Forgotten. Director Geoffrey Sax toys with reality and fantasy unsuccessfully. Keaton holds strong as a husband who goes from seeking answers with regards to his wife, to being entangled in something else altogether. Supporting roles do not fare quite so well. Ian McNeice plays a contact who seems to disappear too quickly, or perhaps he just sneaked off set. Deborah Kara Unger is wasted as another contact. Chandra West is pretty much hopeless as Keaton's wife who really needs a new hobby. Mike Dopud plays a detective who needs to figure out how any screenwriter can concoct such garbage. Drab photography throughout a thriller that makes more noise than decent entertainment. Score: 1 ½ / 10

Jonathan Rivers (Keaton) world turns upside down when his author wife (Chandra West) is found dead of an apparent accident. His grief turns him to a man named Raymond (McNeice) who does experiments with EVP Electronic Voice Phenomena. This phenomenon allows the dead to communicate with the living through machines and electronics. Raymond tells Jonathan that he is getting messages from his wife which drives him to invest in equipment and see, or hear for himself. This leads to an unhealthy obsession that gets out of hand fast. The EVP in this script is a cool idea and early on Director Geoffrey Sax uses this for a few solid jump scares and some genuine creepy moments. Unfortunately it runs out of steam quickly after these first few scenes. The second half of this movie just mail's it in and it definitely misses a good opportunity. The sound design is excellent but it is wasted on scenes that are just simply dull. The script is way too involved in Jonathan's obsession with the EVP and a simpler and straight forward approach by the writers and director would have helped a lot. This is certainly watchable, but instantly forgettable.

Have you noticed how thrillers that begin with a happy family preparing for breakfast always means one of them will die? This is the screenwriter's way of preparing us to be sad when one of the family members die in an accident. "Hey, this a happy family, when one dies it's really really bad, ya'll!" And then the surviving family goes crazy or gets depressed for the rest of the film."White Noise" is a psychological thriller, where the exact above scenario occurs. Anna (Chandra West) dies in a car accident, leaving a grieving husband, John (Michael Keaton) behind to utter bad dialog that even Keaton can't make work. Soon, he is followed by a very fat man (hard not to notice, huh?) who tells him he can contact the dead. "Sure thing, I'd love to hear my dead wife talk", says Keaton. Suppose he is a in a happy marriage, because most married couples don't want to hear each other talk even when they're alive and kicking.But since this film is a thriller, lots of bad stuff begins to happen when the dead are called upon. The really fat guy dies, being crushed under a computer. If you can already see why this film is unintentionally funny, you're just enough intelligent to avoid seeing it.The film gets its worst grove on when the ending hits the screens. My guess is that the writer couldn't come up with one, so he threw in something that requires special effects and, like, would be cool. Like, it wasn't...