White Noise (2005)

What you bear with you when you go to this movie will affect how much you enjoy this picture. If you go with an intense curiosity for the subject of EVP, but have no prior knowledge of it, you will be somewhat disappointed, as the picture does not explain the the phenomena adequately. If you go in a bona fide skeptic, you are likely to leave as a disgruntled skeptic.

As for me, having had prior knowledge on the subject matter, I went to this movie quite eagerly, and was only slightly disappointed. The film did depict a newly widowed man's grief, and the desperation that sometimes follows such a loss. Although not many will go as far as to attempt contact via electronic devices, we can identify with the protagonist's need for closure. for who hasn't longed for that last conversation, kind word or even a farewell from a deceased loved one.

The actors were proficient in their roles, and a number of scenes left me quite shocked and unsettled. That is saying quite a lot, as I've tried my hand at contacting the spirit world before, but have never seen such a frightening experience as that endured by the protagonists.

The only things that detracted from the movie was its ending and its confusing pace. Although the first third of the movie went at an almost too slow pace, it was easy to follow. The latter 2/3s of the program could get confusing, and almost felt like some one stomped into the studio whilst they were filming and said "Come on then! Get a move on! We haven't got until Gabriel's trumpet resounds!" It simply went to quickly, hence my decision to see it twice. Not to spoil anything for those who have not seen this picture yet, but the latter part of the movie left matters to be desired.

The generous rating is warranted however, for creating an interesting movie around something as time-consuming and often unrewarding as EVP is quite a feat in and of itself. True, they have embellished things quite a bit, but if they hadn't, they'd not attract as wide an audience. The special effects were done well, and the director did the splendid job of keeping the audience tense for the greater part of the picture.

If you purchase the DVD, plan to watch it twice or thrice to get the most enjoyment out of it. Remember to watch also with an open mind, and at least some prior knowledge to the EVP phenomenon. Happy watching.

Fmovies: It has been a very long time since I have seen a movie and actually thought it was scary. I was very surprised when half way through this movie I thought I may have broken my husband's hand because I was squeezing so hard. While the beginning of the movie is a little slow, it pulls you along because you can sense something is going to happen. When it does, I was not disappointed at all.

I thought the acting was great even though Michael Keaton is not aging well. It was filmed entirely in Vancouver and was beautiful to watch. The traditional scary effects are used well and wisely and you will jump, despite preparing yourself for the scare. While I am not a believer in ghosts, this movie made me think and forever question and fear white noise.

I recently was allowed to view this movie at a press screening. I can tell you as a professional ghost researcher, the portrayals are quite realistic and believable. The characters are accurate and the subject of Electronic Voice Phenomena is well represented.

It is a Hollywood-esquire movie in that some things are portrayed a little bigger than real life, but that in no way detracts from the believability of the movie. It has none of the fantasy that things like "Ghostbusters" bestowed upon a naive audience.

I loved this movie. Truly. It touched me on a personal level. It made me think about some of the more risky possibilities of my profession. And some parts really made me jump in my seat!

See it. At least twice.

White Noise fmovies. Michael Keaton gives a good performance as architect Jonathan Rivers. I found the movie good and thrilling at times but it somehow lost its phase in the end. But then again that's also the case with many films like Timecop and Hard Cash.

Storywise the movie was quite good. The idea of a device which can record our personalities after death is quite interesting. A quote by Thomas Edison made in 1928, which is used in the beginning of the movie, states: "Nobody knows whether our personalities pass on to another existence or sphere, but if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be manipulated by our personality as it survives in the next life such an instrument ought to record something." The concept of E.V.P.; (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) is elaborated on through the entire movie and it leaves us still thinking.

The directing and the way it's written holds up pretty good up until about 2/3 in the movie. The characters and Michael's acting as a father is quite good and not flawed in any way. The story flows in a good and convincing way. But it's in the end where it starts to get a little hectic. There's a twist to the story which sorta destroys the original set up and it becomes a tad....well dull and inconsistent to be perfectly blunt.

But all in all this is an enjoyable film. Just don't expect to be blown away.

What a shame it is when a potentially captivating and refreshingly low-key story manages to latch onto your interest at the start and then gradually lets you down further and further until you're left scratching your mystified head by the time it reaches its overdone conclusion. Unfortunately, this is what happened to me by the end of WHITE NOISE.

It wasn't Michael Keaton's fault; it was a pleasure to see him return as the star of a brand new movie once again, looking a bit wrinkled perhaps, but still managing to give a strong and sincere performance. As a man whose wife has recently died, he becomes obsessed with her wandering spirit in the afterlife (not a new idea), apparently getting contacted by her through that funky electrical fuzz business you see on your television screen when there's nothing being broadcast.

The idea of spirits communicating via the airwaves is called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) and there are a lot of people who actually believe in it for real, so I'm not going to make any comments about what I think of that, or them. Let me just say that I'm all for suspension of disbelief when it comes to buying into fantastic films like this, but what I can't tolerate is not understanding what the hell was supposed to be taking place, which is about where I was left stranded when the credits finally began to roll. Much static indeed.

There are occasionally movies like this that have me completely baffled, but if a film fails to make itself clear for me, I tend to consider that to be the fault of the filmmaker, not my own (unless I watched it while I was too tired to focus or something). Well, for WHITE NOISE I was wide awake, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed -- so guess who's to blame?

I first heard about White Noise when I saw the TV advert. Before then I didn't even know it existed. I watched the trailer online and decided that I would go and see it. Now being a fan of films like The Sixth Sense, I thought that this film would give me everything I wanted. It has Michael Keaton in it, and he rocks. Unfortunately the film did not deliver. It tried to be another Sixth Sense or Stir of Echoes, and failed miserably. It has a very promising start, but the middle just drags on repeating itself, and ends with a completely poor twist which any monkey could have figured out. Unfortunately like most "Scary" films nowadays it relies on loud noises and bangs to make the audience jump. This film could have been so much more. It's a shame because it was a good idea.