Review: White Noise


Michael Keaton (in a rather low-key turn) plays an architect whose author wife (Chandra West) goes missing, presumed dead. Sometime later, Ian McNeice (AKA cut-rate Richard Griffiths) approaches him, claiming to have the ability to contact the dead, via Electronic Voice Phenomenon, messages in recorded static (or complete BS to most people). Deborah Kara Unger is another grieving person whom Keaton is introduced to.



This 2005 Geoffrey Sax (a Brit TV director making his cinematic debut) film wastes an interesting premise by neither going the cheesy exploitation route nor the more serious and thoughtful route. It is too mopey and dull for the former, and too silly and predictable to work on the latter level. It’s also unoriginal, a sort of “Contact” meets “The Sixth Sense”. A shame, because EVP is perfect fodder for a B-grade schlockfest (If you find the notion ridiculous, you probably shouldn’t bother watching it to begin with, I was willing to believe for the sake of some light entertainment).



Scripted by Niall Johnson, the film is competent and the cast try their best, but it simply isn’t interesting. Like, at all. There’s not a whole lot I can do with that.



Rating: C

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