When the original White Noise hit theaters almost exactly two years ago to the day I skipped the screening thinking it was just going to be another PG-13 January dump job. Strangely enough the film isn't half bad and it is also a reminder that Michael Keaton is an actor that needs to do more work.

For those of you not in the know, White Noise centers around the idea of "EVP" (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). Keaton stars as Jonathan Rivers and when his wife, Anna, suddenly dies he is contacted by a fella that has claimed to been in contact with her. Basically the theory behind "EVP" is that inside the normal sound that surrounds us are ghostly waves, that when recorded and played back become audible communication from the dead. In Jonathan's case Anna is contacting him, as are other dead folk, warning him about those that are going to die or clues as to who is doing the killing.

The original White Noise has a cool little twist at the end and while it is farfetched I actually quite enjoyed it as I sat down to watch both White Noise and White Noise 2 this past Monday night.

This brings me to White Noise 2 starring Nathan Fillion (Serenity) and Katee Sackhoff ("Battlestar Galactica"). This film can hardly be considered a sequel considering there is only one small tie in to the first film via a newspaper clipping and instead of just the exploration of "EVP" this one takes the phenomenon to a ridiculous level.

The film begins as Abe Dale (Fillion) and his wife and son head out for breakfast. Inexplicably a man walks into the cafe and for no apparent reason kills Abe's wife and son and then turns the gun on himself. In a bout with depression Abe then tries to commit suicide by taking an insane amount of pills. Luckily his buddy gets to him before he dies, rushes him to the hospital where he has a Near Death Experience (NDE) complete with tunnel and light at the end and everything.

When Abe wakes up he realizes something is different. Occasionally folks are surrounded by something of a white aura, some stronger than others. On top of that he now seems to be hearing things and seeing things inside of electric frequencies. Basically the premise in the original White Noise is that in order to hear or see EVP transmissions you have to record sound and play it back. The theory in White Noise 2 is that when they were shocking poor Abe's ass back to life he somehow became "de-tuned" himself and can now see EVP as it is happening. This is the stretch in logic I was not willing to take.

So the halos of light symbolize people that are going to die and Abe has the power to stop them, the story moves along in proper Final Destination fashion with an admittedly interesting biblical twist letting us know that cheating death is not always the best option. The best part of the whole thing is that almost every time Abe sees a halo of light and a chance to save someone he says, "You gotta be kidding." Nope, sorry Abe, gotta go save the poor chap.

All-in-all, if you were thinking about picking up the new White Noise 2 I recommend you skip it and simply opt for the first one alone. However, this may not be the end of the line for this little franchise as a new interview with White Noise 2 director Patrick Lussier at Moviehole tells us a third may be in the works.

When asked if there are any ideas for a third film Lussier is quoted saying, "Oh I have one or two. Nathan had a really interesting take on what a less sterling character might do with ability he possesses in the film. It's dark and very cool and morbidly funny. But I'm not sure if they'd continue this specific story. Likely they would spin again and create another stand alone set in the same world."

Gotta admit, that idea works. Take this awful power and run with it. You see that someone is going to die and you just sit back and watch the show. Oops, sorry, meant to tell you that the piano was going to fall on your head. I dig it.

Related post categories: Home Video News : White Noise, White Noise 2

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