Michael Keaton is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood today, landing iconic roles across genres including comedy, drama, and action. The actor has even stepped into the horror genre. After dipping his toes in the genre with Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Keaton returned to scares in the 2000s with a massive critical flop that just started streaming on Prime Video.
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With a grim 7% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, White Noise is Keaton’s lowest-rated movie of all time. The film hit theaters in 2005 and was a surprising box office hit, grossing $91 million worldwide on a $10 million budget despite being critically panned, but has earned something of an underrated status in the two decades since its release. Keaton’s fans can now rediscover White Noise after the movie joined Prime Video on April 1st. For those who haven’t seen it, or if you need a refresher, the movie stars Keaton as a grieving architect who becomes obsessed with communicating with his deceased wife through Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP), only to invite sinister, malevolent entities into his life.
Michael Keaton’s White Noise Continues To Defy Its Initial Critical Reception
Critics didn’t have much of anything good to say about White Noise upon his release. The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis said the movie was “inappropriate for anyone of any age with half a brain,” while ViewLondon’s Matthew Turner advised would-be viewers to avoid White Noise “like your life depended on it,” explaining that “watching actual white noise would be preferable to sitting through” the film. The movie, which also inked Keaton his sixth-lowest-rated film in terms of audience rating, was largely viewed as relying too heavily on cheap jump scares rather than building genuine atmosphere in a plot that was convoluted and led to a pretty disappointing final act.
Time certainly has a way of changing opinions, though, and White Noise has established a long-term legacy that stands in stark contrast to its abysmal initial reception. The movie is a critical flop turned cult curiosity that is now widely credited with creating a genuinely dark, disorienting atmosphere and tapping into fundamental fears of loss and the desire for afterlife communication. Keaton also delivers a believable performance as a grieving husband that anchors the supernatural elements of the movie, which are genuinely unsettling. The movie certainly isn’t the best horror film from the period and nowhere near Keaton’s best, but it’s a pretty good example of early 2000s supernatural thrillers that is a fun, flawed treat. White Noise has even experienced a resurgence on streaming in recent years, breaking into Netflix’s top 10 during its run on the streamer last year.
Other Horror Movies Now on Prime Video
Spooky season is still a while away, but Prime Video is already delivering some scares. April has brought several horror titles to the Amazon streamer, including both the 1988 and 2019 versions of Child’s Play, Lifeforce, Teen Wolf: The Movie, The Menu, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, and The Prodigy.
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