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the likelihood of finding an original concept in the horror genre grows
increasingly thin, filmmakers are scouring the world of the supernatural for
obscure plots and gimmicks. The result of this desperate search is films
like "White Noise", which is based upon the idea of 'EVP', better
known to those who care as 'Electronic Voice Phenomenon'. Basically, the
idea behind this is that the dead can communicate with the living through
the far end of the electronic spectrum, manifesting messages through static
on radios, television screens, and so on. Whether or not this is plausible
is pretty much a moot point, as the average horror fan is generally quite
accepting of fantastical and outlandish narrative themes, and suspension of
disbelief is a virtual prerequisite for the enjoyment of most genre films.
What
the horror fan should not be prepared to accept, however, is the use of a
vaguely intriguing idea to mask the same tired, recycled plot lines, cheap
scares and borrowed surprises. Unfortunately, "White Noise" falls
into this depressing category, hiding a complete lack of innovation behind
an interesting conceit, a masquerade which becomes apparent all too quickly.
This is a shame, as the film itself is competently made, with an acceptable
amount of unoriginal scares and a pleasingly low-key approach to what could
have easily been turned into a CGI heavy schlock-fest. Where the film fails,
and fails badly, is in its shoddy script and plotting, both of which have no
idea where to go beyond the initial premise, and unwisely falls back on an
unconvincing central character and an illogical progression of events,
before limping awkwardly into a conclusion which appears to have been
spirited in from another feature entirely.
At the start
of the film, we are introduced to Jonathan Rivers (Michael Keaton), a
successful architect with a loving authoress wife (Chandra West) and cute
moppet of a son. All seems picture perfect, until wife Anna disappears
after a night out, with all signs pointing to a tragic accident. However,
before her body has even been recovered, Jonathan is visited by Raymond
Price, an eccentric practitioner of EVP who claims to have made contact
with the missing, and apparently deceased, Anna. Understandably, Jonathan
dismisses Price as a crank, an opinion he is forced to reconsider after
the corpse of his wife is found in an abandoned factory, and he starts
witnessing a number of strange phenomena that suggest she may be trying to
contact him from beyond the grave.
Jonathan is
quickly drawn into the world of EVP, at first through Price, and later
through his own increasingly desperate efforts. His initial skepticism
gradually gives way to obsession, as he becomes convinced that Anna is not
only trying to talk to him, but also to warn him. With the aid of a fellow
believer (Deborah Kara Unger, "A
Love Song for Bobby Long"), Jonathan begins his own investigation
into the mystery, a search which appears to be dragging up not only
sinister secrets, but also a malevolent force that seems hungry for
mayhem.
The plot, when
condensed as above, sounds interesting enough. However, when the idea of
EVP is taken away, what remains is little more than a series of clichés
and contrivances. "White Noise" is the kind of film in which
vaguely unpleasant things happen to nice, rich people who live in
waterfront properties, a fact which immediately alienates the viewer and
makes it very difficult to care for the characters. This kind of
stereotype is all too common in Hollywood horror, and is often used by
filmmakers as a lazy, insidious way of getting viewers to fill in the
character details themselves: white, upper middle class, good job, vaguely
creepy child, etc.
Matters are
not helped by the fact that British TV director Geoffrey Sax seems
reluctant to explore the characters, a strange decision given that the
film spends almost all of its time with protagonist Rivers. Since we are
given no real insights into his behavior, other than the disappointingly
one dimensional motivation of grief, his abrupt plunge into obsession is
rather unbelievable, and the viewer is never convinced that such a
rational, dull man would ditch his everyday life for skulking in the dark,
squinting at television static. Herein lies another narrative flaw, in the
fact that any effects of Jonathan's obsession are neatly glossed over and
ignored, as problems such as missing weeks of work and having to take care
of his child are taken care of with quick phone calls. There is no sense
of effort, panic or mania to Jonathan's addiction to EVP, and as such the
viewer feels no kind of tension or fear for the outcome of his lightly
taken decisions.
All this would
have been more forgivable if the rest of the film had been well paced or
cunningly plotted, but again, Sax takes a safer, shockingly pedestrian
route. Aside from borrowing scenes liberally from the Japanese "Ringu"
series, almost everything in the narrative progresses through convenience,
or at best through other character doing the work for Rivers and simply
handing him information on a plate. There are a number of gaping holes in
the plot, especially during the weak conclusion, which would have been all
the more depressing if it wasn't signaling to viewers that
their ordeal is nearly over.
This lack of
conviction by the director means that it is difficult to feel any kind of
excitement at all, and it rapidly becomes clear that Sax is far more
concerned with the minutiae of EVP itself rather than throwing in any
thrilling set pieces or scare scenes. Although this is a change from the
quick fix, cheap shock style of many modern genre efforts, the fact of the
matter is that a horror film without horror has about as much point as low
alcohol beer.
To be fair,
"White Noise" is not wholly without merit, and it is, for most
of its drawn out running time, quite interesting, though for the
explanations of the central idea rather than through any kind of concern
for the characters. Sax does manage to drum up an atmosphere of sorts, and
there are a few creepy scenes, though these do tend to rely on clichés
such as blue neon, dry ice and loud electronic noises. Unfortunately, even
these are few and far between, and are simply nowhere near enough to save
the film from being a disappointing, dull mess.
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