A Film that is apparently to blame for at least one random Horror Film coming out every January.
This is White Noise, a 2005 Film that surprised the Film Industry.
Is it because of the quality? Well...no, not really.
The Film was a surprise hit- grossing its Budget multiple times over- in a dead zone (not that one) for Film releases. January was for castoff Films and the required release of Oscar bait Films to be eligible.
Is there more to this one other than the reason that Films like The Boy, Cloverfield and The Bye-Bye Man came out in January?
The Plot involves a man who handles grief by looking into the mystery of ghosts. Are they hiding in the static we see on a daily basis? Can they communicate with us?
This was the big American Film for a British Director- who has mostly done Period Pieces and Procedurals since- and it hit big.
To find out if it is good, read on...
An Architect- Michael Keaton- gets some great news from his Wife- she's pregnant!
He has a kid with his ex-Wife, but now she will too.
That day, he sees her off to work and then waits for her at home that night.
...and waits...and waits...
She's gone long enough to be reported missing and Keaton understandably panics.
While in that state, he sees a guy parked near his House and then sees him the next day outside of his work.
The man tells him that his Wife has passed, but is trying to communicate with him from the other side.
He doesn't believe him, of course, and keeps looking.
Finally, the bad news comes in- she's dead, her body found floating in a river by a Factory.
In the ensuing Months, he shifts his focus from work to the study of White Noise, which is the idea that ghosts and spirits can be seen/recorded in static.
He works with the man from earlier- until his mysterious and sudden death- and another woman who studies this.
He sees a vision of a woman in the White Noise and goes to help her.
She's in a car wreck with a power line about to fall.
He manages to save the baby- at her request- but can't save her.
At the Funeral, he wants to work with the Husband, who very directly denies him.
'My wife believed in this,' he says (paraphrased), 'But I don't!'
Confusion arises as he learns that other recent deaths match names in the massive data log of White Noise recordings...and they also studied it.
The lady working with him is understandably confused when she sees a message from herself!
She's compelled to jump from a third floor balcony, but survives.
It soon becomes clear the Keaton keeps seeing a trio of shadowy figures, especially as he gets deeper.
He sees a message from his Wife too- she tells him to go!
He gets a vision in the White Noise of the same building where his Wife was found dead by.
As it turns out, a worker at the site (who he met earlier) was killing people- including his Wife- at the beckoning of the shadowy figures.
Keaton dies when he tries to stop them, but the SWAT Team saves the last would-be victim.
Days later, he can be heard in Radio Static by his Son.
The End.
A Film that tries to be two things and I'm not sure if it quite works.
The first half of the Film is a straight Drama with people talking about White Noise. You can see it being about grief and how it is processed.
At a certain point, all of the stuff turns out to be true...so it isn't a metaphor.
It gets pretty by-the-numbers at this point and the Plot hinges upon a guy we met exactly once in a random Scene.
The idea of 'Guy studies thing to feel better, but then it gets dangerous' isn't a bad one. It has worked many times.
I think the problem is that this works *too well* as one idea (with its bleak look and pace) that when it becomes a Horror Film it is almost disappointing.
So, when it changes from one to the other, you can't really enjoy/appreciate the first part anymore. The new stuff isn't that great either, so...nobody wins here.
If you're asking me to recommend this one then, I'm...not exactly going to...
Next time, I want to make up for a past sin. Back in the day, I only reviewed one part of a Horror Anthology...so let me do the rest now. Stay tuned...
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