Static: Contacto con el más allá

I saw this about 15 years ago on late night television in the UK. Having seen John Carpenters 'Christine' a few weeks before I was curious about the expanded talents of Keith Gordon, and I was not disappointed. 'Static' is one of those films that never leaves the viewer. It's stark simplicity and realism has meant that everyday life keeps giving me 'flashbacks' to this movie. Even after all these years things are still very clear in my mind. Keith Gordons brilliantly understated performance and Amanada Plummer (in what must be one of her most controlled roles ever) capture the mood of the piece perfectly as one mans obsession builds to a devastating climax. The question of "was he right or crazy?" bears relevance beyond the confines of the film as we live a world where everyone, it seems, is guided to the point of blindness by their own beliefs and obsessions. Please ignore the shots of the kids in the alien masks on the advertising for this film. That is just another example of the distributor not having a clue what the film is really about.

I saw this film over 10 years ago, a few months before my father died. It was on late-night TV and I was fascinated by it - it remained in my mind, though at the time I didn't know how significant it would become. The general story dealt with a young man's "glimpse" of heaven through the static on his TV screen. A few months later, on the day of my father's funeral, I was sitting in my car with my son and my car radio appeared to "start up" without prompting; all I could get on the radio was "static noise". (This is all true.) I took this as a message from my father as the film had been so haunting in my mind. It wasn't frightening, but very comforting. The radio continued in this way on and off for a number of weeks until the car was scrapped. I extracted the radio itself and still have it now. I would love to see the film again and have tried on ebay without success. I can't remember much about the acting or direction, but surely the point of a good film is if it lingers in your mind? I haven't seen many films since then that have had this effect.

"Static" is such an awesome movie, but has seemed to of faded away into obscurity. Director Mark Romanek, has also directed the "Nine Inch Nails" music video, "closer" and more recently "One Hour Photo". Keith Gordon of "Christine" and Amanda Plummer of "Pulp Fiction" give good performances. Also, the film has some (as they'd say in the 80's) totally awesome new wave music. I wish I could find the soundtrack. The story concerns Ernie Blick (Keith Gordon) a small town inventor who works at a crucifix factory. He has created a machine in which he believes can show people images of heaven. His long time friend Julia (Amanda Plummer) who plays keyboard in a new wake rock band, is in town for the Christmas holiday. Poor Ernie wants to see his dead parents in heaven. Probably because his mom and dad were much less annoying than his uncle, who's a fanatical religion crazed street preacher. Ernie is convinced his machine works, because he can see the images of heaven. When he gathers people around to see his invention, all that comes up on the screen is static. Ernie becomes frustrated, because people think he's insane. The film is simply amazing and unpredictable. Not to mention, it has a diner shaped like a fish. Actor Keith Gordon went on to direct the late 80's dark satirical teen melodrama "the Chocolate War". I highly recommend both films. Now if only they'd release both these movies on DVD.

Static is a well shot, fantastic story. Not a standard hollywood picture that deserves all of what little recognition it has. If you live in Chicago, you can rent it at Facets video rental. (They have some great rare movies) Mark Romanik has such a great visual eye. I anxiously await One Hour Photo.

"Static" is the rarest of gems. I am glad Mark Romanek went on to make my alltime favorite music video (Nine Inch Nails' 'closer'), because had he not amazed me with that video, I probably would never have been interested in seeing "Static". When I finally did see this film, I was even more amazed at how great it truly turned out to be, and wondered why it was that I had to discover the film all by myself rather than it being directly recommended to me.

The story and directing is very captivating, as I soon found myself intently watching every second of the film to see what was going to happen next. Keith Gordon (who co-wrote the script with Romanek) was dead-on in his portrayal of Ernie Blick, an out-of-place young man in small town America with an obsession over his new 'invention'. It also took "Static" to turn me into an Amanda Plummer fan.

The movie's soundtrack alone is entertaining. No wonder Romanek went on to a career in music videos as he obviously has a wide knowledge of music. I mean, what can you say about a soundtrack that effectively includes songs from both The The and Elvis?

I can't help but believe that "Static" is one of the roots of today's massive independent film movement. All of the key elements to current popular indies can be found in "Static": limited budget, dark humor, a disturbed main character, psychologically-driven drama. The film's ending is original and surprising even by the standards of the modern 'twist-in-the-end' craze. What made me appreciate "Static" that much more is that it still didn't sit you down and spell everything out for you at the end with a narrated flashback montage (like too many movies do). Instead, it's up to you to figure all out yourself.

If you are a fan of today's popular independent films - especially Pi, Memento, or Donnie Darko - then please do yourself a favor and take a timewarp back to '85 to find out where these films originated from. See "Static".