WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT

After helplessly witnessing the massacre of his family, Abraham Dale falls into a state of depression and attempts suicide. Officially dead for a few minutes and then saved by doctors, Abraham realizes he has acquired a power from his near-death experience and can recognize people close to death. Initially disoriented, the man decides to use this "gift" to save the lives of people who are about to lose them, but by interfering with Death's plans, Abraham will be forced to make amends... Despite the title, "White Noise 2" has nothing to do with the film Geoffrey Sax directed in 2005, which featured Michael Keaton dealing with EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomena, those ultraterrestrial contact phenomena conveyed by electrical equipment. In "White Noise 2" there are no EVP (although on a couple of occasions the protagonist manages to catch a glimpse of something on television screens), but it talks about NDE, Near Death Experiences, known to us as EPM, Near-Death Experiences where one moves towards an intense light, now testified by many people who have encountered them. In the film directed by Patrick Lussier (Dracula's Legacy - The Charm of Evil), it is hypothesized that the protagonist, a participant in a near-death experience, has received the ability to identify people close to dying, thus transforming into a new Johnny Smith, though without the suffering charisma of Christopher Walken; in fact, the film has an embarrassing debt to "The Dead Zone" which, as the minutes progress, will also turn into an embarrassing debt to "Final Destination". Despite the unoriginal points and developments, "White Noise 2" still manages to entertain with wit and soon proves to be rich in rhythm and quite interesting thanks to a series of well-placed plot twists throughout the film's duration. The protagonist Nathan Fillion ("Serenity"; "Slither") appears sufficiently unsettled to be believable, and Patrick Lussier's direction is, as always, careful and attentive. Yet many things in this feature film are unconvincing. The screenplay by Matt Venne (Masters of Horror: Pelts) brings together too many elements to the point of narrative saturation, inevitably leading to some being neglected and others left unclear. If the rescue mission that the protagonist sets out to accomplish is the core of the story and can be followed with calm interest, the religious subtext alluding to fallen angels and demonic possessions seems entirely pretextual, an intrusive element and, in some cases, unclear. The frequent appearances of ghosts to Abraham are also entirely useless, probably inserted to conceptually connect to the first film and to allow the sound and makeup teams to fully engage. The real shortcoming of "White Noise 2" lies, however, in the final climax: a far-fetched conclusion that overdoes it on the fantasy side, descending into unintentional ridicule and making excessive use of computer graphic effects. In short, Patrick Lussier seems to have decided to assemble the classic alternative ending that is generally discarded from screening tests and then recovered among the DVD extras! In conclusion, "White Noise 2" presents itself as a product that is not very original but dignified in its aesthetic presentation and quite engaging, though it does deteriorate into questionable screenplay choices and 10 final minutes that do not do justice to the previous 80. However, it is a step forward compared to the unsalvageable previous chapter. Suitable for a low-demand audience.