Macabre…ish Horror Review: Dead Air
Dead Air, 2009/ 1 hr 29 min
At packed sporting events around the U.S. biological agents are released into the ventilation systems at the same time.
Meanwhile, Logan Burnhardt (Bill Moseley) is a DJ on the top controversial radio show in LA. With his cohost Gilbert Brickman (David Moscow) and his ex wife, Lucy (Patricia Tallman), is his producer.
Logan asks the question on the air, “America, why are you so paranoid?” And begins with a line of callers who are scared of things like cat food, aliens and a neighbor who sharpens knives on his porch. Then the calls start to get serious.
All the while, terrorists are overcome by their own bio weapon are trying to escape an arena before chaos erupts.
Then a hysterical man calls in warning them that there’s rioting on the street, right outside the station. He’s claiming mass violence. Then the studio lights go out. The genny kicks in and more callers are trying to warn them. Logan is told to turn on the tv. And the callers are right.
The news is broadcasting devastation, mindless violence and warning people to stay inside and lock the doors.
The radio station has been told to switch over to the emergency broadcast system like all the other stations but Logan resists. He wants to stay on the air. Then they turn their focus on locking down their own building. But three terrorists (Herxl Tobey, Navid Negahban, Federico Dordei) and a small violent mob has made entry into the building and the security guard, Tanner (Anthony Ray Parker) dies while closing the gate.
They don’t know it yet but the violent mob are rabid like zombies. They are highly contagious and it is spreading quickly across the states.
Now all the calls coming into the radio show are reporting violence on the street and sometimes also their own deaths. Soon the news announces the National Guard has been activated.
Oh and call screener, Burt (Josh Feinman), was scratched while grappling with a now zombie Tanner. And Logan is desperate to get to his wife, Gabbi (Lakshmi Mantchu) but Gil decides to go check on them so Logan can stay on the air.
There’s a potential cure to this nightmare, one of the terrorists in the radio station has his own personal antidote to take in the event he is infected and he is infected.
This horror film is directed by Corben Bersen. This flick is paced well, pretty fast paced, not too bloody, but the effects are gorier as the movie goes on and it’s very violent. The zombies are fast moving and they change fast. This movie is not PC. Also in this is Larry Drake (Dr. Giggles), Jeanne Cooper (Young & The Restless) and Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years). I enjoyed this!
TW: Islamaphobia, R slur