The original White Noise was a terrible film that was based on an interesting subject, that of voices of the dead reaching out to the living via static on TV and radio, even when there was no actual show on. White Noise 2: The Light is a straight to DVD rip off that somehow made it to the cinema big screens, probably on the strength of the title and nothing else (though the recent sequels to Hollow Man and I Know What You Did Last Summer were unable to secure the same privilege)

The story of White Noise 2 is that of Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion, Firefly & Slither), a devoted husband and father whose wife and child are shot down in front of him for no apparent reason. The killer then puts the gun beneath his chin and pulls the trigger (leading to the low budget error of the body lying on the floor with no hole in the head!)

White Noise 2: The Light is nothing special but at the same time is certainly a lot more watchable than it’s predecessor. There is no po faced seriousness about it at all, it is all very B-movie-ish. It does nothing new at all, borrowing very heavily from Final Destination for the skin of the plot, but does it well enough not to be totally awful like a lot of recent low grade horror/thrillers have been. In fact it is a lot of fun when it really shouldn’t be.
In many ways it is a shame that the only way they could get this made/released is by associating it with a previous, crap, film. I’m assuming that is the case as the film really has little connection to White Noise in anything but an almost throwaway scene.

A lot of this is to do with Fillion (the main reason I went to see it) he has a great B-movie style to him (could he become the new Bruce Campbell?), an ability to find himself in a ludicrous storyline but still manage to treat it with complete seriousness and a sense of humour at the same time. I have a lot of time for him and will certainly watch him in anything he is in. While the part of Abe isn’t up to the quality of the sheriff in Slither Abe is a man you feel for. You feel his despair and then jump for joy with him as he finds a way out of his depression through the white light. Fillion is what makes this more than just an average movie. I have this feeling many an actor would have crossed over a line and taken the character to far into the comedy side.

As a final note there are a couple of really cute little touches that brought a grin to my face. First off there was the viewing of Frankenstein on TV, a nice correlation with the returning to life of Abe in the hospital and then there is the sight of a little girl in a red coat running around and hiding near the end. Nothing much to do with the story but it just has to be a nice little homage to the classic ‘Don’t Look Now’.