White Noise 2: The Light (2007)

Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Not even Nathan Fillion could save White Noise 2. This straight-to-DVD sequel has a ridiculous story and awful writing. Plus, it kept treating the audience like they were a bunch of idiots. There are a few cool stunts and some creepy imagery, but it's mostly just a waste of time.

I just finished watching this movie and I have to say it was a very pleasant surprise. I read several reviews and ratings and I was surprised to hear people speak highly of this. The first one wasn't bad but it also wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped for. This one had a lot of jumpy, scary moments that kept it interesting and fun. I love a good spook!THe acting was also surprisingly very good unlike most horror/thriller sequels. I wouldn't call this a horror film. Much more of a Paranormal Thriller. It has some guts-took some chances on plot and script. AND it actually seemed slightly believable and relatable.Worth a watch. Only gripe as ALWAYS these days the ending had to go and turn cheesy and dumb. It's that feeling like they gave up at the end. SO disappointing when you've had respect for a film all the way through and then they BLOW IT! Anyway...fun watch, definitely had a creepy, scary essence to it. Some cheesy moments but a lot less than most movies I've seen recently. Check it out yourself and see! : )

Well I'll be honest. The only reason I took interest in this one was because of Nathan Fillion. He's great in everything that he is in. Here, he's playing a different kind of role, but you never get to see that side of him come through. This movie has its moments, and the premise had a lot of potential. However, the actual film didn't measure up. About 1% of this movie is character development, and that sucks because I actually wanted to get to know these characters before the weird events of the movie took place. The other 99% is the director trying to cram this story into an hour and a half long movie. Also, seeing as how this movie has absolutely nothing to do with the original, I really don't see why it's called White Noise 2. I guess they just wanted to get the whole transmission after death thing off the ground quick and weren't interested in a new franchise. At any rate the pacing seems rushed which is a bummer because it could have been cool. I am a big fan of religious fiction movies, and that's what this movie is. Also, it's not really a horror movie. It has scary "jump" scenes, but it's more of a thriller, and it tries too hard at times to scare you when the story line isn't really supposed to be that kind of scary. If they had called the movie something else and if the director had had free reign over the production, I think it could have been good, but we don't really get to see Fillion or any of the actors become their characters. If you get into the story even a little bit, it works just not for very long.

I've never seen the original White Noise, but since everyone – or almost everyone – seems to hate it, I don't plan to do so. Actually, I don't even know why I bothered to watch the sequel. It may have something to do with the fact that there was nothing worthwhile playing in Peruvian cinemas this week. (Apart from the third Resident Evil and Mr. Brooks, which I've already seen and reviewed.) Anyway, White Noise: The Light, I hear, has nothing to do with the former film, having completely new actors and crew and, although it tries to make links with the first installment, it doesn't succeed in being more than a lackluster sequel to a crappy movie. Were it not for Nathan Fillion's presence, the movie would undoubtedly be unwatchable. As it is, though, it's only a semi-creepy, PG-13-rated "horror" film.The movie tells the story of Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion), whose family – wife (Kendall Cross) and kid (Joshua Ballard) – is suddenly killed by an unknown man for no apparent reason. Depressed, Abe tries to commit suicide, but is taken to the hospital. There, he apparently dies but, before he's revived, sees a white light and his family at the end of the tunnel. After the near-death experience, everything changes. He can now identify people who are about to die – a mysterious white light appears around them. According to Dr. Karros (William McDonald), this has something to do with "EVP" phenomenon, but the audience would never guess it. As Abe tries to use his new "superpowers" for good and save people who are about to die, he gets close with her former nurse (Katee Sackhoff), finds out a thing or to about the man who killed his family, and creepy stuff start to happen.The movie is another in a series of lackluster sequels which have nothing to do with the previous installments. Which such a "pedigree" one would expect it to be virtually unwatchable, but fortunately that's not the case. Yes, it's pretty lackluster, but it also contains a couple of surprising twists, and Nathan Fillion's (Firefly, Serenity) performance is pretty effective. He takes things seriously, recites his lines of dialogue convincingly, and makes a compelling leading man. He's surrounded by unfamiliar names, but none of them are that bad; unless not as bad as one comes to expect from horror movie protagonists. Katee Sackhoff as Abe's potential love interest doesn't have much to do, but is appealing and likable nonetheless (since she's smiling virtually all the time it's almost impossible to hate her) and William McDonald as the only character who comes close to being the main "bad guy" is boring; he doesn't have enough screen time or dialogue.Despite the effective performances and mildly interesting plot, the movie never "takes off", and actually looks kind of cheap. From the virtually unknown thespians, to the lazy production values and cheesy makeup for the apparitions Abe seems to see everywhere, the movie looks as if it could've used a bigger budget. Additionally, even though the plot is somehow engaging, it never seems believable, especially due to the mixture of concepts the film presents; the paranormal, religious stuff and science don't make a good mix. The movie turns more and more preposterous as it progresses, and the ending is almost laughable, both in execution and concept; it's hard to understand not because it's complex, but because it seems to break the movie's pre-established rules, and basically doesn't make any sense.Technically, the film doesn't feature many special effects, but the ones presented in its climax are pretty cheesy. The direction is solid yet workmanlike and, even though the movie has plenty of "boo!" moments and cheap scares, it doesn't succeed in being totally creepy. There are some mildly interesting plot twists, though, like when Abe decides to become some kind of weird "superhero" and use his powers to save people. Now, I wasn't expecting that from a sequel to a horror movie… White Noise 2 tries to do many things, but ultimately ends up being yet another cheap sequel to a mildly successful horror film. Even though it tries to make links with the previous installment (it mentions the "EVP" thing a couple of times), the plot never convinces, especially because it tries to mix several different concepts which don't seem to have much relation with each other. Yes, the performances are solid, and yes, the movie has a couple of spooky "boo!" moments, but it's nothing to get excited about. The movie as a whole is disappointing, preposterous and, ultimately, not very entertaining. Fans of the first White Noise (is there such a thing?) won't be pleased with this sequel, and I would only recommend it for watching on DVD when there's nothing else available.