Directed and produced by Corbin Bernsen, 'Dead Air' stars genre favourite Bill Moseley as Logan Burnhardt, a Los Angeles-based shock jock working the night shift. One night, a group of terrorists releases a gaseous chemical into the ventilation system of a crowded basketball game. This chemical infects the crowd, turning them into murderous psychopaths. When a series of calls comes in to report the attacks to Burnhardt, they (of course) don't believe it. But, when the infection comes to their little studio, they learn the truth and must fight for survival.
The first thing most will notice is how vacant this plot seems to be of originality. Basically the story is British horror '28 Days Later...' mixed with Canadian horror 'Pontypool.' And, yes, that's really all the film seems to be. 'Dead Air' could have done well with a bit of a change here and there to separate it from all the other similar films. However, the fact that it mainly took place inside a radio station ('Pontypool') while infected people with bleeding eyes and infectious scratches were running around the city ('28 Days Later...') really proved they weren't trying too hard to be very original. Another issue with the writing was some of the characters' dialogue, especially Gil's (David Moscow, who played the young version of Tom Hanks's character in 'Big'). Whether it was his dialogue or just not a good time for Moscow, his performance was sorely lacking. A positive in the acting category, however, was the always dependable Bill Moseley who played his Howard Stern-like role very well. He was harsh and honest and constantly entertaining. . . kinda like the movie itself.
On the other technical aspects, Corbin Bernsen's direction was adequate, though it felt a bit too "TV movie" (which he's more than used to). A bit more experimentation with the direction and cinematography really could've jazzed the film up a bit especially because those are two elements that really set a film like '28 Days Later...' apart from its competitors. The gore effects and makeup for the infected were pretty unimpressive : the blood looked fake and there really wasn't enough gore to satisfy that sector of the horror fanbase.
Overall, 'Dead Air' is an entertaining romp with some solid aspects. It's very entertaining with its solid pace, but it does lose some value with its obvious theft from other horror movies. Fans of Bill Moseley will definitely want to check it out, and if you enjoyed superior films like 'Pontypool,' '28 Days Later...,' and 'The Signal,' you might also want to just give it a look if you're bored.
Final Verdict: 6/10.
-AP3-
The first thing most will notice is how vacant this plot seems to be of originality. Basically the story is British horror '28 Days Later...' mixed with Canadian horror 'Pontypool.' And, yes, that's really all the film seems to be. 'Dead Air' could have done well with a bit of a change here and there to separate it from all the other similar films. However, the fact that it mainly took place inside a radio station ('Pontypool') while infected people with bleeding eyes and infectious scratches were running around the city ('28 Days Later...') really proved they weren't trying too hard to be very original. Another issue with the writing was some of the characters' dialogue, especially Gil's (David Moscow, who played the young version of Tom Hanks's character in 'Big'). Whether it was his dialogue or just not a good time for Moscow, his performance was sorely lacking. A positive in the acting category, however, was the always dependable Bill Moseley who played his Howard Stern-like role very well. He was harsh and honest and constantly entertaining. . . kinda like the movie itself.
On the other technical aspects, Corbin Bernsen's direction was adequate, though it felt a bit too "TV movie" (which he's more than used to). A bit more experimentation with the direction and cinematography really could've jazzed the film up a bit especially because those are two elements that really set a film like '28 Days Later...' apart from its competitors. The gore effects and makeup for the infected were pretty unimpressive : the blood looked fake and there really wasn't enough gore to satisfy that sector of the horror fanbase.
Overall, 'Dead Air' is an entertaining romp with some solid aspects. It's very entertaining with its solid pace, but it does lose some value with its obvious theft from other horror movies. Fans of Bill Moseley will definitely want to check it out, and if you enjoyed superior films like 'Pontypool,' '28 Days Later...,' and 'The Signal,' you might also want to just give it a look if you're bored.
Final Verdict: 6/10.
-AP3-