Brad Etter’s Dead Air begins with a birthday surprise. Julie (MarLee Candell) receives a gift she has longed for from her husband Roger (Douglas Leal), a vintage radio. So, thrilled and delighted, she gives hubby a hug and lets the music from her new pride and joy fill the room.
Julie cleans and cavorts about the house as old show tunes radiate from her radio, making time waiting for her husband to return from work pass fleetingly. Yes, everything is fine and dandy until the hour in which the birthday gift stops playing the music you can dance to and commences broadcasting a creepy voice, which seems to be relaying random number sequences. Julie is startled at first, but when the radio slowly resumes its regular functions, she puts it down to a strange occurrence and goes about her business.
But when the creepy voice continues to make unwelcome interludes that infringe on Julie’s listening pleasure, she becomes frustrated to the point of rage, yanking the power cable clear of the socket in a last-ditch effort to silence the cryptic broadcast. But the voice persists, despite the lack of electricity. Julie boldly decides to write down the numbers being relayed until they stop.
“…a tragedy that unlocks the terrifying origin of the random numbers that drift over the Dead Air.”
When Roger arrives home for dinner, Julie confronts him with her bizarre encounter. He goes to the radio, plugs it back in, and turns it on, only to show that it’s working fine. No weird numbers. Julie’s frantic state does little to foster belief in what she is reporting. Frustrated, Roger is about to leave when the phantom numbers start up again. Julie hurriedly drags Roger back into the living room, but the act is all for naught as the numbers fade back to music as they enter. With Roger refusing to believe her, Julie storms off, driving as far away as she can from the haunted radio. What follows is a tragedy that unlocks the terrifying origin of the random numbers that drift over the Dead Air.
Etter’s simply staged short is cleverly crafted. He is aided in the telling of this unique ghost story by his cast and his confidence in the building of suspense, which is only sullied slightly by a jump forward in time that is not artfully delivered as the film’s more polished elements. Still, there’s enough atmospheric spookiness to inspire.
"…there’s enough atmospheric spookiness to inspire."
