''White Noise: The Light'', also marketed as ''White Noise 2'', is a 2007
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
horror thriller
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
film directed by
Patrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier (born 1964) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and editor, known for his numerous collaborations with director Wes Craven and fellow screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis and Todd Farmer, as well as his work in the Horror film, horror gen ...
and starring
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
and
Katee Sackhoff
Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series '' Another ...
. Written by Matt Venne, it is a
stand-alone sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to the 2005 film ''
White Noise
In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...
'', directed by
Geoffrey Sax
Geoffrey Sax (sometimes credited as Geoff Sax) is a British film and television director, who has worked on a variety of drama productions in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Life and career
He began his directing career in the la ...
.
The film received a theatrical release internationally on January 5, 2007, but was released
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
in the United States on January 8, 2008. The film received generally positive reviews, but was not commercially successful, and failed to recoup its $10 million budget.
Plot
After witnessing the murder of his wife and young son at the hands of Henry Caine (
Craig Fairbrass
Craig John Fairbrass (born 15 January 1964) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Delmar in the thriller film ''Cliffhanger'' (1993), Dan Sullivan in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1999–2001), ...
), who then turned the gun on himself, Abe Dale (
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
) is so distressed that he attempts to take his own life. A
near-death experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...
follows that leaves Abe with the ability to identify those who are about to die. He acts on these
premonition
A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome.
Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to:
Film and television
* "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...
s to save three people from death, among them a nurse met during his recovery, Sherry Clarke (
Katee Sackhoff
Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series '' Another ...
).
Abe soon learns that Henry, before murdering Abe's wife and son, actually saved their lives. Abe concludes that Henry also had the ability to see death. Wanting to learn more about Henry, Abe visits his house only to learn that Henry survived his suicide. Investigating further, Abe discovers the phenomenon of "
Tria Mera", The Third Day, when Christ was resurrected. Also on the third day the devil takes possession of the mortals who cheated death. Abe concludes that three days after he saved their lives, those he saved will be
possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
and compelled to take the lives of others. Accepting this responsibility, Abe comes to terms with the horrible fact that he must consider killing those he had saved to prevent further tragedy.
Abe tries unsuccessfully to prevent the second man he saved from killing others, but arrives just a minute too late. Abe is able however to take the gun from the man before he kills himself. Abe tries to explain the situation to Sherry but she is at first non-receptive and he must follow her to the cafe where his wife and son were murdered. While driving he sees his own aura in the rear view mirror, predicting his own death. This time, Sherry listens but, just as Abe brings up the gun, police who are already in the cafe shoot him dead. Abe spends his last minutes trying to convince Sherry she must kill herself before her own possession is complete. However, as she reaches for the gun the police pick it up and she becomes hysterical, and is put into an ambulance.
As the ambulance leaves, Sherry struggles against the demons inside her. Back at the cafe, Abe's life force leaves his body as a lightning streak in pursuit of Sherry's ambulance vaulting from one utility post to the next. He reaches the ambulance and appears to Sherry as a spectre of himself. He is able to comfort her before the demons possess her. She acknowledges him and expires peacefully after he places his hand over her heart. Up ahead, the speeding ambulance is unaware of an accident blocking its path. An 18-wheel fuel tanker is disabled and a commuter bus is stopped. Abe, still manifested as a ghostly spirit, appears on the street directly in front of the ambulance, causing the driver to swerve, avoid the accident at the last minute and miss the tanker, thus saving the people on the bus. Abe's mission completed, he finally sees a bright white light in front of him with his family waiting in the distance and is able to move on. Back at Blackmount County Asylum, Henry is tormented and driven further insane by the restless spirits of all the victims who died at the hands of people he saved.
Cast
*
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
as Abe Dale
*
Katee Sackhoff
Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series '' Another ...
as Sherry Clarke
*
Craig Fairbrass
Craig John Fairbrass (born 15 January 1964) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Delmar in the thriller film ''Cliffhanger'' (1993), Dan Sullivan in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1999–2001), ...
as Henry Caine
*
Adrian Holmes
Adrian Holmes (born March 31, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work on the Bravo television series '' 19-2'', for which he won a Canadian Screen Award in 2017. He is also known for playing the role of Uncle Phil in the ''Fresh Pr ...
as Marty Bloom
* Kendall Cross as Rebecca Dale
*
Teryl Rothery
Teryl Rothery is a Canadian actress of stage, television, and film. She is best known for portraying Janet Fraiser in the TV series ''Stargate SG-1''. She co-starred as Grace Sherman in ''Cedar Cove (TV series), Cedar Cove'', and has had major ...
as Julia Caine
* William MacDonald as Dr. Karras
* David Milchard as Kurt Green
*
Tegan Moss
Tegan Moss (born February 7, 1985) is a Canadian actress appearing in film and television. She has been nominated for a Young Artist Award.
Biography
Moss was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has two brothers, Rory Moss, and actor Jes ...
as Liz
* Chris Shields as Father Nathan
*
David Orth
David Orth is a Canadian actor.
Life and career
Orth was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario. His most notable role was as Edward 'Ned' Malone in the TV series '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'', which was shot in Australia. He pla ...
as Dr. Serling
Production
Budgeted at approximately $10 million, the film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, some disturbing images, thematic material and some language.
Release
The film was released to 915 movie theaters internationally and was released
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
in the United States on January 8, 2008.
Home Media
The film's first
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
release occurred in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
on November 18, 2008, in a double feature with the first film. It has since gone out of print. The film debuted on Blu-ray for the first time in the United States on February 11, 2020, in a double feature release with ''
Rosewood Lane
''Rosewood Lane'' is a 2011 American thriller-horror film written and directed by Victor Salva, and stars Rose McGowan. The film's story revolves around a radio talk show psychiatrist who moves back to her hometown and notices her neighborhood p ...
'' (2011). The disc was released by Mill Creek Entertainment.
Soundtrack
In the film, Abe witnesses a children's prayer concert that includes "
The Spirit of Radio
"The Spirit of Radio" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, released from their 1980 album ''Permanent Waves''. The song's name was inspired by Toronto-based radio station CFNY-FM's slogan. It was significant in the growing popularity of the b ...
" by
Rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
, as arranged by Terry Frewer, a
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
-based composer, and performed by the Vancouver Bach Children's Chorus. Soloists for this performance include Madeline Busby and Olivia Curth.
Box office
''White Noise: The Light'' grossed US$8.52 million internationally as of January 27, 2008.
Reception
The film received better reviews than its predecessor. , the review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported a 75% approval rating with an average rating of 5.14 out of 10, based on eight reviews.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Patrick Lussier
2007 films
American supernatural horror films
Canadian supernatural horror films
English-language Canadian films
2007 horror films
Films directed by Patrick Lussier
Films scored by Normand Corbeil
Films shot in Vancouver
American ghost films
Rogue (company) films
American supernatural thriller films
Gold Circle Films films
Brightlight Pictures films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
2000s Canadian films