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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When we turn on each other the terrorists win, February 25, 2011
This review is from: Dead Air (DVD)
I haven't had a lot of luck with horror movies that my Tivo digs up for me from the depths of Showtime's many channels (Showtime Extreme, Showtime Women, Showtime Movies that Time Forgot). So you can understand why I thought Dead Air was probably about zombies on a plane. I was close. Dead Air is about zombies on the radio. Okay, it's not quite that either. Dead Air is a surprisingly fresh update on the zombie genre using modern conventions of terrorism, conspiracy theory, racism in America, and freedom of speech. It tells the story from the narrow view of a late night shock jock Logan (horror staple Bill Moseley), and his production team of Lucy (delicious Patricia Tallman, teaming up with costar Moseley from the Living Dead remake), Gil (David Moscow) and Burt (Joshua Feinman). Gil and Logan are America at its worst, crude and condescending, mocking their listeners and taking glee in their paranoid conspiracy theories. In contrast are the terrorists led by Abir (Navid Negahban). They too take great pleasure in mocking Americans, but unlike Logan and his crew, use more than harsh language on their targets. Abir's terrorists unleash their "zombie bomb" on crowded centers around the world, including a stadium near Logan's radio station. Logan and Gil's snide remarks about conspiracy nuts turn serious when it becomes clear that what's happening is no joke. What happens next is less Night-of-the-Living-Dead-zombies and more 28-Days-later-zombies as the plague spreads, turning normal citizens into bloodthirsty maniacs. The terrorists are on the loose too, and they decide the best way to broadcast their message is - you guessed it - a radio station. Dead Air is more interested in the new fragile state of the American psyche than the zombies themselves. Logan transforms from cynically putting down his callers to becoming their voice of reason, keeping his listeners informed and taking calls from witnesses just trying to survive. Dead Air has minimal gore, but it makes up for it with these little vignettes of personal terror as callers whisper into their phones before being torn apart. The movie happens in real time, taking us through the skepticism, disbelief, resignation, and fear that the four protagonists go through as they grapple with what just happened. For those of us who remember September 11, it's all too real. The movie shifts gears a bit once Gil decides to rescue Logan's wife and child by fleeing on a motorcycle. The scenes are thrilling but ultimately unsatisfying as Gil tries to navigate a world gone mad, all the while broadcast live on Logan's show via the radio in his helmet. It's an interesting premise, but we just don't get enough of it. Dead Air has some clever twists that make for an entertaining ride. Although the film is sprinkled with chastising asides about the state of America, it is ultimately a hopeful film with a message: When we turn on each other -- be it as zombies or in the media - the terrorists win.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrorists and Zombies, February 24, 2010
This review is from: Dead Air (DVD)
As in many of the zombie flicks that have popped up as of late, the zombies in 2009's DEAD AIR are not lumbering reanimated corpses but are, instead, living folk who have become fast-moving but mindless flesh-eaters as the result of some sort of viral infection. But what makes this film from director Corbin Bernsen--yes, THAT Corbin Bernsen, he of L.A. LAW fame--stand out from the others is the fact that the virus in question is released by terrorists. In a scenario that's not too far off from reality, the terrorists release the gas at densely peopled spots (such as professional sporting events) in major cities all across the U.S. The film, however, focuses on events that occur in Los Angeles, and the audience sees these events unfold from the perspective of a radio shock jock named Logan (played by genre regular Bill Moseley). In spite of the differences in the zombies, DEAD AIR in some ways hearkens back to the claustrophobic feel of Romero's original zombie trilogy. Like the surviving humans in Romero's classic zombie films, Logan and his coworkers barricade themselves against the increasing zombie population by holing up in a building, in this case at the radio station where Logan works. Keeping tabs on outside events via TV news broadcasts and call-ins from their radio audience, they helplessly watch as the Los Angeles falls into the hands of flesh-eating maniacs. Eventually, though, their fortress also falls into the clutches of unfriendly hands, and Logan leaves to search for his wife and child...hoping that they have not been zombified. Overall, DEAD AIR is a well-made little indie horror flick. Moseley and his costars--including Patricia Tallman, here reunited with Moseley for the first time since their appearance together in Tom Savini's 1990 remake of Romero's original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD--do an outstanding job of acting, the directing is solid, and the zombie FX, while on screen for only a minimal amount of time, are realistic and effective. The film does take a bit of a nosedive at the end when Logan, reunited with his family, recites some saccharine (and presumably internal) diatribe in which he essentially blames the governments of the Western Hemisphere for war and terrorism. But that's a minor flaw, and most die-hard fans of the genre will still enjoy the film. Anthem Pictures' DVD edition of the film has a few flaws. The most egregious problem with the disc is that the widescreen transfer, while crisp and clear, is not anamorphic. Also, when played on blu-ray players, two different copies of the disc skipped at the exact same spot (about the 5:45 mark), though both copies played fine on standard DVD players. On the other hand, the disc has some nice extras, which include a behind-the-scenes featurette and cast and crew interviews. In short, DEAD AIR is a decent film that horror fans, especially zombie lovers, will want to add to their collections. We can only hope that a better DVD or Blu-ray release will appear at some point in the near future.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It never goes dead, December 8, 2009
This review is from: Dead Air (DVD)
We listen to it in our cars, our stereo, our TVs--we're even able to listen on our iPods and MP3s nowadays, all because of the technology of radio waves. Those that host these shows become friends, people we come to know and trust due to their entertaining personalities. Without them, what'd we do on our commute to work, or in our free time if we had nothing else to do? What would happen if, in the midst of a terrorist attack, one of those radio stations managed to live? And what if, despite the odds, they continued to broadcast? Welcome to DEAD AIR. Centering around a radio host named Logan and how a nightly discussion about paranoia turns deadly, we follow a group of radiomen and women who happen to get caught up in what appears to be the worst attack since 9/11. Armed with nothing other than their radio, Logan, Gill, Burt and their producer, Lucy, prepare for the worst, all the while chronicling their experience over the air. No matter what happens--no matter the odds--these four will continue to broadcast, all in the midst of the apocalypse. I can't begin to tell you what I thought going into this movie. Though centering around a seemingly-simple thing, DEAD AIR surprisingly turns out to be a highly metaphorical and questioning movie ensues. With underlying themes such as terrorism, comparisons to the war, and a strong background of 9/11, DEAD AIR is sure to strike a point with some people. Therein lies what I believe will be people's main fault with the movie--the political undertones. Though I myself wasn't bothered by said undertones, it may be due to the fact that I'm not necessarily concerned with politics or the deeper undertones that flow through them. The brief bit of racism that ran through the film was unsettling, but not enough to really impact the viewer, as no one other than Logan's wife (who only briefly appears in the movie) catches and questions it. Like any film, DEAD AIR has its disadvantages, no matter how hard you want to look in the other direction. - The zombies. They flail their arms to and fro, have no cooperative or defined movements, and fail to act like our traditional undead would. Though fast, they lack the determination and concentration we've seen in previous movies. Whereas in films like DAWN OF THE DEAD '04, where the zombies run fast, have set movements and will attack their prey until completely devoured, these zombies will attack anything, even when they have fresh prey in front of them. They rarely bite, preferring to scratch, they'll 'play dead' when seemingly mortally-injured (ala human style,) then get back up again. This was one of the main faults I had with the movie, but the zombies are almost pushed entirely aside by the end of the film, so it's not that big of a deal. - The special affects. It's become a common Hollywood idea that putting a bullet in someone's head equals a hole as damage, which entirely defies physical and the way the cranial structure works. Though this is really the only obvious flaw of the special affects department, it's a particular irk that can get to fans expecting more realistic gore. The scratch and bite wounds are realistic, to a degree, but the gunshot wound isn't. Minor faults aside, DEAD AIR is actually a really good film. But, like I said, I think most viewers (particularly those with strong views or intentionally-fabricated racism) will have either a strong positive response, or a strong negative response. Still, that gives you no reason to turn this film aside. Its strengths lie in the tension it builds up, as well as the atmosphere it gives off.
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