Making an attempt to tie together the first White Noise with the sequel really didn't make that much sense to me, however, I tried my best to buy into this. It usually would probably be better to just totally forget about the first film (which is pretty easy to do) and skip the the sequel and just think about it as a perfectly new stand-alone film called "The Light". For some reason the writers worked hard to connect the films together with this "I need to contact you from the other side E.V.P. Phenomena" mentality. plot is basically the paranormal aspect of the first one meets religious overtones. Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion) is a hardworking family man. He decides to take his wife (Teryl Rothery) and son (Joshua Ballard) to eat some breakfast, so they go to a diner in the city. All of a sudden, a mystery man enters the diner, pulls out a gun and kills Abe's family right in front of him, then the man kills himself. Before the man killed Abe's family, his wife was muttering some strange Latin words: Tria Mera, almost as she was possessed. 3 months later after the tragic event, we see Abe in depression. He overdoses on some pills, and next thing you know, he is dead. After having a near death experience, Abe realizes that he can see frequencies which the dead try to communicate with the living, and that he can see which person is going to die from a ridiculous, violent accident. The beginning is very interesting and not that bad, but when the religious overtones start, the movie turns into just another bland and senseless supernatural thriller with a bad ending. The film moved along nicely until the whole "devil's hand" & "Third Day" thing crops up. The whole film breaks down for me. The driving point could have been more convincing if you had just stood on the premise that those who are saved become killers themselves without the confusing references to the devil and Christianity. No wonder people are so messed up. Now please explain to me again why survivors become possessed? Is Satan upset that he missed a soul he couldn't take anyway? Why do survivors kill? Who knows! it's a supernatural mystery in a horror film. If this film refers to a mysterious "third day" against a backdrop of Christianity, how does a thinking viewer refrain from thinking that this is some sort of Christ reference who supposedly rose from the dead on the third day: apparently without becoming a possessed killer? Give me a break! The writing gets lazy on this point and kills the momentum of the film deader than dead. The scenes where Abe starts to descend into a paranoid schizo seemed stupid and childish. Fillion can act, but he lacked vigor when with his family he sheepishly stared (as in a daze) in the diner as well as on his home movie reels. His grim tone seemed off in the home movies and his family's reactions seem odd, almost like he really didn't care for them sincerely. Fillion tries to maintain his whipped dog look but just can't. One scene while talking with his friend after the shooting, he slips a bit out of saddness and seems happier than ever when talking about the whys and wherefores of his family getting randomly shot by a psycho. That's Fillion. He's such a light-hearted jokester that you can tell he has problems being grim and serious. Light moments include Katee Sackoff's romantic interest with Fillion upon initial hospital interaction. I'm going to give this film a 3/5 for just the N.D.E. tunnel scene alone. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! THANKSRead full review
Review by Johnny Butane Starring Nathan Fillion, Katee Sackhoff, Ed Anders Directed by Patrick Lussier It seems odd watching White Noise: The Light as it feels like it was thrown into theatres like an unwanted child. Universal still doesn’t know what to do with it in the US, and the UK marketing only started about two weeks before its release, so going into it I was expecting a pretty bad movie. Thankfully this time I was wrong. The plot involves Abe Dale (Fillion), who witnesses his wife and son being murdered. Three months later the grief is too much to handle, and he tries to kill himself. Technically he dies but is brought back to life by doctors … and he brings something back with him. He begins seeing a light around people who are about to die and intervenes, saving them, but he soon learns there’s a price to pay for tampering with fate. As you may guess, the plot doesn’t really have much to do with the original movie; I don’t think it’s even mentioned or referenced once. But that’s all right, as the main thing I liked about The Light was that the story was involving; I was very interested to see where it was going. It helps that Nathan Fillion is a great lead; he plays a serious character this time around, not cracking wise like we’ve seen in Serenity or Slither, and he hits all the right emotional notes. Katee Sackhoff does a good job as the love interest Abe saves and is easy on the eyes. Director Patrick Lussier manages well behind the camera, delivering some good visuals throughout, even if it is riddled with musically timed jump scares. But this sequel is far from perfect. Though there was some suspense to be had, usually wondering how characters might bite it after we see the light shine around them, and some of the setups where quite good, I thought it was honestly too light for the amount of stuff that’s happening. And even though the performances were good across the board, quite a bit of dialogue came across as corny. I couldn’t believe some of the things these characters we saying with a straight face. Though White Noise: The Light had some good visuals as previously mentioned, it got to a point where it was overdone. After a while I got fed up with seeing ghosts appear out of nowhere for no reason other then to give a cheap boo scare. There are some unintentionally hilarious moments; the scene with the bum on the train track had the whole theatre laughing. Assuming it ever comes out in the U.S. you’ll see what I mean. Even though some scenes felt like filler, the pacing kept along at a good clip so I was never bored with it. The actual plot was a little confusing at times, but that would likely be fixed with another viewing. My main gripe with The Light would probably have to be the ending as it was pretty disappointing. I was hoping for a more emotional ending then what was delivered. Lussier decided to go for more of an action/CGI finale to top the film off, and it just felt cheesy and out of place. Overall I have to say that White Noise: The Light is a better movie than the original. It does have its problems, but it’s worth checking out and doesn’t deserve the treatment Universal seem to be giving it in the US. It’s a lot better than you might think!Read full review
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