Although pitched with a guffaw-inspiring "Based on actual phenomena" marketing campaign, White Noise starts out with a simple and intriguing premise, clearly influenced by contemporary trends in Asian horror. The notion of the dead communicating with us through the static on our electronic equipment has a certain creepily quotidian appeal, but after about a half-hour of slow build, White Noise quickly devolves into ludicrous plotting and cheap shock effects. Director Geoffrey Sax shows adeptness at making an audience jump with shock cuts and loud noises, but this is not a particularly impressive talent. Sustaining disbelief, or at least mere interest in the story would have been more satisfying. It's difficult to explain, without giving away too much of the story, the flaws in logic that seem to occur with increasing rapidity as the film progresses. Suffice to say that the film establishes rules that it then fails to follow, and that the second big scary plot twist that occurs at the climax of the film obviates the need for the existence of the first such twist. While successful Asian horror movies like Ringu, Ju-on, and the genuinely disturbing A Tale of Two Sisters have their own problems with narrative logic, they at least manage to sustain mood and gradually amp up the tension. The most disturbing moment in White Noise (or the scariest moment that doesn't involve a sudden loud noise) is the sequence, apparently rooted in harsh reality, wherein Michael Keaton vainly presses a button on his answering machine, over and over again, only to hear, "You have no messages." It's not really clear why Keaton's career has taken the dismal trajectory it has since he stopped playing Batman, but one would hope such a talented actor could find a better comeback vehicle than this.