White Noise 2: The Light (2007)

86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
49% of users liked it
(11,604 ratings)

In lieu of continuing the events of Geoffrey Sax's 2005 thriller White Noise (which starred Michael Keaton and Chandra West), the supernatural thriller White Noise 2 (released in Great Britain as White Noise: The Light) begins with a separate set of characters and explores a thematically similar set… More In lieu of continuing the events of Geoffrey Sax's 2005 thriller White Noise (which starred Michael Keaton and Chandra West), the supernatural thriller White Noise 2 (released in Great Britain as White Noise: The Light) begins with a separate set of characters and explores a thematically similar set of events. Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion) is a sweet-natured, contented husband and father whose wife, Rebecca (Kendall Cross) and young son, Danny (Josh Ballard) are butchered by a seemingly crazed gunman. Henry Caine (Craig Fairbrass) bursts into a diner and shoots both of them, then turns the gun on himself. Devastated, Abe makes an unsuccessful suicide bid, then awakens in a hospital, where he finds himself in a near death experience, pulled inexorably toward a bright light. Regaining consciousness, Abe discovers his sudden, newfound ability to spot "auras" around the living that signal death in advance. He uses the precognition to save several lives from potential disaster, as a kind of 'avenging angel,' but soon discovers that these interventions against death wreak exceedingly dire and ugly consequences on Earth. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Patrick Lussier
Written By: Matt Venne
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

In Theaters: Jan 5, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Jan 8, 2008

Critic Reviews

Kevin A. Ranson, MovieCrypt.com
Expecting you to believe a lot while borrowing from many ghoulish sources, genre fans will find plenty to enjoy even if there isn't enough to love.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
Thanks to Lussier's tight direction, gruesome disturbing imagery, wonderful story, and great performance by Nathan Fillion, [it's] is a great piece of supernatural filmmaking...
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[T]he script does work in one good -- and by "good" I mean "cheap and implausible" -- Firefly reference...
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
A few cheap jolts, a handful of clever ideas, and just enough energy and creativity to make it across the finish line.
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
White Noise 2 is pretty much everything the original film wasn't: genuinely exciting, well made, competently acted, and contains a payoff that remains in the realm of easy digestion.
Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central
Don't let the insipid mediocrity of the original film stop you from checking out the sequel.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...Fillion's stellar work ensures that one can generally overlook the film's various inadequacies...
Johnny Butane, Dread Central
It's a lot better than you might think!

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dead A

This one is better than the first one. I liked the ending.
Anthony L

White Noise 2: The Light is slightly better than the first film. It could/should have been much better as the story was much stronger. It was certainly more entertaining than watching Michael Keaton watching TV for 90 minutes anyway. The problem was, quite typically in recent… More
White Noise 2: The Light is slightly better than the first film. It could/should have been much better as the story was much stronger. It was certainly more entertaining than watching Michael Keaton watching TV for 90 minutes anyway. The problem was, quite typically in recent sci-fi/sudo-horror/paranormal dramas, was the believability factor. Seeing dead people, fine, seeing 'The light', no problem with that, but the little things such as being left in the office of your wife and sons killer by his wife 'Because I'm sure you'd like to be alone' er, no, not buying that. It's these little details that can ruin a film for me. That and the rather silly ending that undoes a lot of good work anyway. Also, what the hell has happened to the usually up-beat, almost hyper-actively cool Nathan Fillion? He's positively lethargic in this film. A shame but I'll get over it, I guess it was better than I expected due to the fact that most sequels of average horrors aren't exactly known for their Oscar potential.
Luke B

Slightly better than it's predecessor, White Noise The Light has very little in common with it's older sibling. This time the film is more concerned with being exciting, creepy and disturbing. It mostly pays off. More of a super-hero movie, where Fillion can sense who is… More
Slightly better than it's predecessor, White Noise The Light has very little in common with it's older sibling. This time the film is more concerned with being exciting, creepy and disturbing. It mostly pays off. More of a super-hero movie, where Fillion can sense who is about to die. The film has a wonderful twist and plays on the idea of meddling in matters of fate. Unfortunately, there are just too many small moments of cheap/corniness. Had it not been made as a sequel to White Noise, it could have been more free to do it's own thing and have it's own style.
Film C

Its good not as good as the 1st one but watchable!
Steve B

Silliness that tries to go a step further than the original by making Nathan Fillion the receiver of the images - with no explanation as to why. It was mostly predictable and lame, but Fillion is always fun to watch.
Dr Blood

It's not quite as disappointing as the first "White Noise" but, apart from Nathan Fillion's strong performance, there still isn't much more to this than it being just another "Final Destination" in all but name. It also homaged quite a few other… More
It's not quite as disappointing as the first "White Noise" but, apart from Nathan Fillion's strong performance, there still isn't much more to this than it being just another "Final Destination" in all but name. It also homaged quite a few other films in the same genre and, by so doing, was ridiculously predictable. The ending was really unsatisfying too.
Jose Z

A very interesting movie, way better than the first one, or at least with a better story with some very good twists. An unknown cast, mostly actors from tv or independent films, but the case of Nathan Fillion was a very good surprise, his performance was with very credible and… More
A very interesting movie, way better than the first one, or at least with a better story with some very good twists. An unknown cast, mostly actors from tv or independent films, but the case of Nathan Fillion was a very good surprise, his performance was with very credible and convincing aswell as the acting job of Craig Fairbass. Again the only thing I think it was a little weak was the ending, expected something betters
Dean !

A pretty good sequel dealing with near death experiences has a good twist if not groundbreaking.
Andreia C

Way, way better than the first, it doesn't even seem to be a sequel. The plot was much more interesting than the first one and, of course, it had Nathan Fillion which by himself is always enjoyable to watch.
Daniel P

As dumb as they come, White Noise 2: The Light is a stinker of a film. A sequel only in name - the events here have no relation to the Michael Keaton failure - this is frustrating, wholly unoriginal fare. The dialogue is truly terrible (every conversation has a… More
As dumb as they come, White Noise 2: The Light is a stinker of a film. A sequel only in name - the events here have no relation to the Michael Keaton failure - this is frustrating, wholly unoriginal fare. The dialogue is truly terrible (every conversation has a choice of clunkers) and the acting flat. Nathan Fillion and Katee Sackhoff are both very talented actors but even their gallant efforts don't help. They're frankly slumming it here - surely they didn't need a pay cheque that badly? As for the plot... being derivative is one thing, but White Noise 2: The Light has the gall to completely rip-off plot devices and twists wholesale from the likes of Final Destination, Unbreakable and Lost Souls to name but three. Director Patrick Lussier tries to disguise the unoriginality by throwing in so many camera tricks and unusual compositions (a couple of which admittedly are quite striking) that the film descends into campery, and the bizarre editing means that scenes transition without any logic. The biblical imagery becomes tired and eventually sickening and the ending holds absolutely no surprises. AVOID.
Doctor S

A man has a near-death experience when attempting suicide and re-awakens with the ability to discern who is about to die next. Armed with a new purpose in life, he dedicates himself to saving those he can but soon discovers that his actions have grave consequences.... This DTV… More
A man has a near-death experience when attempting suicide and re-awakens with the ability to discern who is about to die next. Armed with a new purpose in life, he dedicates himself to saving those he can but soon discovers that his actions have grave consequences.... This DTV (direct-to-video) release employs a cast to entice any TV sci-fi fan starring Firefly's Nathan Fillion and Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff. I was disappointed to discover she doesn't have many scenes as 2nd-billing would indicate, but she's very good in her role as the nurse who tends to Fillion's physical and mental wounds, showing that she is not a one-role wonder during her impressive turn as Starbuck. But this is mainly The Captain Mal Show and Fillion does a steady job carrying the movie. I wonder if this would have played better as a low-key suspenser in the mold of Unbreakable because there simply aren't enough thrills to stretch over 100 minutes. The soundtrack is crammed with the extrasensory "white noise" Fillion hears and sees which is a sound designer's creative dream but splits the effective-to-annoying ratio at 1:2. Moves at an unhurried pace and we often figure out key plot points minutes before Fillion does so we have to sit back and wait for him to catch up. Perhaps that's how the director managed to conjure a couple good jump-scares among the duds. Although 90% nonsense, I enjoyed the story which takes a nifty unexpected turn. This is the first movie I've seen based on a recommendation from the guy who hosts Totally Twisted Flix and he didn't steer me far wrong, this is decent paranormal fodder. Especially if you're a Rush fan, where a children's choir rendition of "The Spirit of Radio" more than makes up for a rather muddled ending.
Matthew A

Amazing! Miles better than the 1st one, and I mean it literally. The plot was just so interesting and revealing itself at the right pace with unexpected events. The acting was really well done too, especially by Nathan Fillion. His character was very believable and you could… More
Amazing! Miles better than the 1st one, and I mean it literally. The plot was just so interesting and revealing itself at the right pace with unexpected events. The acting was really well done too, especially by Nathan Fillion. His character was very believable and you could actually feel what he feels. The only thing is that now knowing the whole plot, is this going to be just as interesting the second time round? That's the only reason I didn't give it full 5 stars. But otherwise, I definitely recommend this movie to everyone who loves supernatural, psychological horror/thrillers, especially the ones about life and death.
FanGirl B

Honestly, White Noise: The Light, probably only deserves 2.5 or 3 stars but it gets the extra bump because of Nathan Fillion and the "Captain Tight Pants" reference. For a sequel it has a decent story (basically White Noise meet Final Destination 2) and visually has more… More
Honestly, White Noise: The Light, probably only deserves 2.5 or 3 stars but it gets the extra bump because of Nathan Fillion and the "Captain Tight Pants" reference. For a sequel it has a decent story (basically White Noise meet Final Destination 2) and visually has more than its share of style, but utimately it was a little too cheesey and little too heavey on the sudo-religious mumbojumbo for my taste.
Leo L

This is definitely an interesting movie. Nathan Filion is fantastic.
Barry L

Really good follow up to the original.
Andrew P

Way better than the first although they could have made it its own film in itself. Shit my pants on more than one occasion and very reminicent of the 92' film flatliners
Chris M

First of all compared to the first this was definetly the better of the two. Goes about the same story but with different characters which was very good compared to other sequels i have seen. Altho this was the sequel to 'White Noise' i found it alot more involved with the… More
First of all compared to the first this was definetly the better of the two. Goes about the same story but with different characters which was very good compared to other sequels i have seen. Altho this was the sequel to 'White Noise' i found it alot more involved with the whole story-line than the original. Overall, i found that this being a sequel is fantastic one of the few sequels that surpass the original.