Review: Dead Air

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Dead Air
Directed by Kevin Hicks
Chinimble Lore; Freestyle Digital Media
90 minutes, 2021
www.chinimblelore.com/

Poor William (director Kevin Hicks). He’s a lonely widower in 1984 with two young teen girls (real sisters, Madison and Mackenzie Skodzinsky), one of whom is goddamn obnoxious as she’s entering puberty mean girl age, but I digress already... He’s also bitter. His mom died recently, and now he’s going through some of the stuff she had hidden away, including a short-wave radio. William now has a new hobby.

He has two “Radio Radio” connections: the minor one is some static-filled talking that I was having trouble making out, but you know will be pertinent by the end, and he connects with an equally depressed, housebound (she is agoraphobic) woman named Eva (Vickie Hicks). She even has her groceries delivered. I’m only a third of the way through, but I’m guessing that will be significant.

Kevin Hicks

Shades of films like Frequency (2000), The Butterfly Effect (2003), and The Lake House (2006), there are hints given throughout in blaring terms that there is a connection to the two of them beyond meeting like two birds on the wire (apologies to L. Cohen). I am really trying hard not to give too much away; it just seems the hints are like electric shocks rather than the kind where you get it the second time you watch the film. Still, that does not deter me, because so far it is actually a well-made film. But more later.

There is a supernatural element to this as things go tossing off a table by itself, for example. And who is responsible? Is it the ghost of William’s mom? His late wife? Jeebus?

Of course, there is an ultimate reason why William and Eva connect, though I’m sure that will come through eventually, as they must. They obviously are going to have an affect on each other; but again, it is their relationship that is the center of the story. Then again, there is the film’s title as another clue.

Vickie Hicks

A wise plot choice of the writer (Vickie Hicks) is to have William attending therapy with Dr. Jennings (Chris Xaver), so the viewer can get some exposition on events that have given William some PTSD, insights on William’s character, and to hear what he is thinking. Their scenes together are essentially a modern version of the Greek Chorus, and I am grateful for it.

Eva may be the only one who is isolated, but we never see William go of to work, even though he runs the family farm right off the Finger Lakes of Lansing/Ithaca, New York State. He’s either taking care of the girls, going to therapy, or in the basement (wearing a baseball cap down there) fiddling with stuff and on the ham sandwi… I mean, ham radio (sorry, I’m hungry). Many times people without a populated work environment are socially alienated, so it’s no wonder that he and Eva have a connection.

What is nice is that the relationship between Eva and William is not what one would expect, and by the third act, it starts becoming clear for the characters that there is something metaphysical going on that leads (or led) to a tragic event. There is an easier route the writer could have followed, but I am glad the plot took the course it did. There are some questions though, as since they talk so often, there is no mention of current events or any contemporary happenings, even when they talk all night. That seems odd to me: if I talk to someone for a long period of time, you can bet that I am going to be mentioning something contemporary at some point.

I love that it is set in the 1980s because it is pre-cell phones, computers, and all the other technology that would honestly be in the way of the storytelling. For example, the teens do paste-up storyboards instead of being glued to some version of a screen.

The acting is mostly good, with the best performance by Vickie Hicks, who comes across quite natural in her emotions. Kevin is watchable, too, though occasionally his line reading feels a little forced, especially when he is angry; but this is certainly not enough to take away from the story.

While some of the themes becomes quite obvious early on, the details come crashing down in the final act, and there are definitely some unexpected moments that bump this up into a decent thriller. The supernatural aspects are not overwhelming and there is no blood, only course language.

Some of the tropes used in the story are not new, but that is okay because it is twisted around in a different way, creating a project that sounds familiar but veers off, sort of like hearing new lyrics on an old melody. This makes this a fun watch, but be sure to pay attention to the hints along the way, and see if you come up with the right conclusion.

The film is available across North America in Digital HD and Cable Video on Demand.