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White Noise

  • 2005
  • PG-13
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
52K
YOUR RATING
White Noise (2005)
Home Video Trailer from Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
99+ Photos
Supernatural HorrorDramaHorrorMysteryThriller

An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.

  • Director
    • Geoffrey Sax
  • Writer
    • Niall Johnson
  • Stars
    • Michael Keaton
    • Deborah Kara Unger
    • Ian McNeice
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    52K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Geoffrey Sax
    • Writer
      • Niall Johnson
    • Stars
      • Michael Keaton
      • Deborah Kara Unger
      • Ian McNeice
    • 415User reviews
    • 175Critic reviews
    • 30Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    White Noise
    Trailer 0:31
    White Noise

    Photos140

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    Top cast30

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    Michael Keaton
    Michael Keaton
    • Jonathan Rivers
    Deborah Kara Unger
    Deborah Kara Unger
    • Sarah Tate
    Ian McNeice
    Ian McNeice
    • Raymond Price
    Chandra West
    Chandra West
    • Anna Rivers
    Sarah Strange
    Sarah Strange
    • Jane
    Nicholas Elia
    Nicholas Elia
    • Mike Rivers
    Mike Dopud
    Mike Dopud
    • Detective Smits
    Marsha Regis
    Marsha Regis
    • Police Woman
    Brad Sihvon
    • Minister
    Mitchell Kosterman
    Mitchell Kosterman
    • Work Man
    L. Harvey Gold
    L. Harvey Gold
    • Business Man
    Amber Rothwell
    Amber Rothwell
    • Susie Tomlinson
    Suzanne Ristic
    • Mary Freeman
    Keegan Connor Tracy
    Keegan Connor Tracy
    • Mirabelle
    Miranda Frigon
    Miranda Frigon
    • Car Crash Woman
    Aaron Douglas
    Aaron Douglas
    • Young Father
    Anthony Harrison
    Anthony Harrison
    • Doctor
    Bruce Dawson
    Bruce Dawson
    • Mark
    • Director
      • Geoffrey Sax
    • Writer
      • Niall Johnson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews415

    5.551.7K
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    Featured reviews

    7meako1973

    Chilling and effective.

    White Noise is a film that takes a true scientific phenomenon, and makes a film out of it. The phenomenon is one which involves electronic recording/broadcast equipment. In amongst white-noise (that crackle and hiss you get on a blank recording) and static on untuned TV reception there are voices and images discernible. Sometimes these voices have been clear enough to work out, and many people believe they are the voices and images of those who have died, trying to contact the living.

    In the film, Michael Keaton plays Jonathan Rivers, an estate agent who loses his wife. When he is approached by Raymond, a man who lost his son years ago and claims he has heard from Jonathan's wife, it draws him into the phenomenon, and pretty soon he becomes obsessed, recording his own tapes and viewing/listening to them for messages. Then, suddenly, the messages become clear, and seem to be premonitions. Can he decipher the meaning of the messages, or will he disturb something best left alone? I was uncertain going into the film what to expect. Too many times the film world have come up with a great concept, but failed to deliver anything more than mediocre when it is a horror subject. Expecting another Godsend, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pretty good film, with some nice touches, and chills. Admittedly the story wouldn't look out of place on X-Files, but unlike the recent The Forgotten, it manages to feel complete, and doesn't seem to take the easy option at the end.

    The direction by Sax (best know for his TV work such as Tipping the Velvet, Dr Who, Clocking Off, and Spitting Image to name a few) is more than sufficient, and he uses the white-noise to great effect. A little buzz here, and flicker there all serve to unnerve, and you could be forgiven for thinking you are watching another Japanese adaptation. There are a lot of similarities to eastern horror throughout, the use of silence the unnerve, the distorted images in the TV sets, and so on. Only the occasion "music to let you know you should jump" lets down the tone.

    Nevertheless, with a well woven script which doesn't pander to the lowest denominator, and a sterling performance from Michael Keaton, who hasn't really had a presence on the screen since 1998s Jack Frost, make this an enjoyable little movie which deserves a viewing or two.
    5SnoopyStyle

    good moody turns into a muddle

    Successful architect Jonathan Rivers (Michael Keaton) is overjoyed when his wife Anna (Chandra West) reveals her pregnancy. Then she disappears. Jonathan confronts Raymond Price (Ian McNeice) who's been following him. Raymond who lost his son tells him about Electronic Voice Phenomenon and that he has received messages from Anna. Her body is found having drowned. Six months later, Jonathan moves into an apartment and strange electronic things continue. He becomes convinced about EVP. He goes to Raymond who is now helping Sarah Tate (Deborah Kara Unger) with her lost fiancé. As he obsessively decipher the electronic signals, he encounters menacing spirits and even those who are not dead quite yet.

    Michael Keaton is past his early successes and is yet to gain his resurgent accolades. It's a time period when he was a has-been doing limited work. If nothing else, this movie's success shows that he can still be the lead. I really like the cold static moody atmosphere. I don't think the son is necessary but it's where the story goes that leaves me a bit cold. The spirits are a disappointment. The near-death messages idea is where the movie goes down the wrong path. The moody ghost story turns into a muddled thriller. The spirits' climatic battle is a mess. This movie starts good but ends poorly.
    4Zaphod_42

    Too Little, Too late.

    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.
    7darkdementress

    Creepy

    Legitimately creepy and unsettling without trying to hard or relying on female nudity to try and sell a lame story like most horror movies! I was on a marathon of horror movies and watched final destination, the gift, it lurks below, and this and this movie was the best by far. It made sense, it was logical, it was creepy, decent acting and based on reality but with amped up supernatural stuff and no nudity! Recommended :)
    5Brooks24

    Scary but a Little Disappointing

    There was little closure; what happened to the three, evil ghosts? It had little dialog, and thus, it did not bring out Keaton's great acting talent. However, it was scary, and the music was impeccably timed. It reminded me of the movie, Frequency. When are they going to give Keaton some better roles? Quicksand and, now, this? If you want to see Keaton in some other films, watch Night Shift (funny), Clean and Sober (tragic), and The Paper (crazy). If you want to see some better written, new scary movies, watch Signs and What Lies Beneath. However, if you just want to go to the movies to be scared, the film is worth the money; it does keep you on the edge of your seat.

    More like this

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The EVP recording from the trailer ("I will see you no more") that is attributed to a woman named Ruth Baxter, who died in 1987, is supposedly a recording from Point Lookout, a "haunted" lighthouse in Maryland, made by an EVP researcher named Sarah Estep. The lighthouse was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and some interpretations of the recording believe it to say, "I was seeing the war", or "I was seeing the water". While the recording is said to be authentic by the AAEVP, the Ruth Baxter story is fictional.
    • Goofs
      Though the story is set in Washington, the filmmakers make no attempt to conceal British Columbia licence plates.
    • Quotes

      Raymond Price: [after John hears a ghost cursing at them] There are some very bad people out there. They can't all be Anna.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening of the film starts with: "Nobody knows whether our personalities pass on to another existence or sphere, but if we can evolve an instrument so delicate to be manipulated by our personality as it survives in the next life such an instrument ought to record something..." Thomas Edison 1928 E.V.P.; (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) The recording of voices and images of the dead, using de-tuned receiving apparatus. Identified in 1939, and now the subject of increasing scientific research worldwide, to finally evidence communication with the deceased.
    • Connections
      Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies That Will Make You Paranoid (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Burn Away
      Written and Performed by Ray O'Donnell, Liam Carty and Fran Carlyon

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    FAQ21

    • How long is White Noise?Powered by Alexa
    • Is this a true story?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 7, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official site (Russia)
      • UIP (France)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Giọng Nói Từ Cõi Âm
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Brightlight Pictures
      • Universal Pictures
      • Gold Circle Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $56,386,759
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $24,113,565
      • Jan 9, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $91,196,419
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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