Dead Air (2009)
Director: Corbin Bernsen
Reviewer: Dustin Hall

One of my favorite moments of Dawn of the Dead, the original, is that spent in the television station as the world begins to collapse. At this point, we’ve only just seen the zombie riot in the city, the television that should be the beacon of reason and emergency information becomes a platform for panic and confused arguments, and the all too human studio crew abandon their posts to escape to family, leaving their viewers to the wolves.

I’d always enjoyed those concepts, and would have loved to see more exploration of them. This is where Dead Air begins. The zombie apocalypse here is defined, and is the result of a terrorist attack using biological weapons at major sporting events and conventions across the country. The result of this is a rampaging mob of violent infected who seem to remain animated after death. Of course, word of the attacks is slow to spread, and by the time the media knows what’s happening, all Hell has broken loose.

Enter Logan, played by Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects), a late-night shock jock for a call-in radio show. He and his trio of studio cohorts deliver their usual antics: a stream of insults delivered to their insomniac callers delivering their rants on the night’s topic of paranoia. The subject is, of course, all too fitting as speculation flies about the cause of the infection, desperate gambits are made to contact loved ones, and in the midst of it all, a lone criminal seeks refuge at this very radio station…

The obvious comparison here is to Pontypool, the Canadian zombie horror which was in production at roughly the same time and came out at festivals just before Dead Air. The two, while they have a similar synopsis (another example of the almost-eerie trend that ideas have to pop up in two places at once), have totally different tones and messages, and have to be taken for their own merits.

Generally, Dead Air is a good film. Director Corbin Bernsen (LA Law) is still pretty green in the scene when it comes to being the man behind the camera – this is his third film completed as Director – and it shows once in a while. Shot choices are often bland, and there are a few moments where actors aren’t given enough time to emote before their moments are stolen by a questionable cut, but that aside, the film’s craft is solid.

Dead Air isn’t particularly scary, it should be noted. There are some tense moments, but generally the movie is made in a way that doesn’t explore tension or personal conflict, but simply the human response to horrible ideas and situations: growing fear for one’s family and helplessness in the face of Armageddon. Generally you’ll come out of Dead Air having likely not jumped at all out of your seat, but the film gives much to ponder, about our ability to cope with terror, and our ability as a species to cause it.

What really pulls the film together has to be the strength of its cast. While there’s not a lot wrong with Dead Air, it could have seemed very typical were it not for the conviction seen on screen. Moseley is the centerpiece as Logan, and his quick-wit and wonderful voice work incredibly well for this smooth talking DJ. As seen in Devil’s Rejects, among others, Moseley can cross the line from jovial and charismatic to brutal and destructive in a heartbeat, and here he covers all the bases in between, from lacksidasical jokester to embittered and passionate hero by film’s end, motivated ever onward by concern for his wife and daughter. Not trapped behind the make-up of Otis or any other character, Moseley is able to cut loose and steal scene after scene.

The crowd favorite character has to be Moseley’s studio side-kick Gil, played by David Moscow. He adds a good combination of disbelief, comedy, and a daring motorcycle ride through the zombie infested city in an attempt to rescue a family. Even incidental characters like agoraphobic caller Vernon carry some weight, in this case thanks to a performance by Larry Drake (Dr. Giggles), uncredited in the role.

If Dead Air falls apart anywhere, though, it’s in the heavy-handedness of its messages. What makes, say, Dawn of the Dead work over Land of the Dead is the subtlety of its political messages; there is a difference between being tapped on the shoulder by a movie’s agenda as compared to being bludgeoned by it. And sadly, in act 3, what had been a pretty riveting zombie battle and rescue mission turns into a stand-off with armed terrorists and a lot of ham-fisted chatter about the nature of war and who’s to blame for terrorist attacks across the globe – the attacker or the victim.

Right there, Dead Air seemed to deflate the audience, its climactic moment that should have been intense and intriguing, instead turns into an anti-war propaganda film, and puts people to checking their watches.

Despite the lackluster final act, Dead Air has a lot of … well, not scares, but interest. If you’re a fan of zombies and the apocalypse, and you’d like to see a little more intrigue with your zombies, this is one to check out.