Julie's Radio Gaga

Julie's Radio Gaga

Bruce Von Stiers

Roger gets a very special gift for his wife Julie for her birthday. It is an antique cabinet radio probably from sometime in the 1930's. Julie is thrilled about the radio.

That is, she is thrilled until something strange starts happening. A child-like voice comes over the radio speaker and starts saying a random set of numbers.

Julie can't get Roger to believe her. Then things turn kind of ugly after a few times of her insisting on what she's been hearing.

That's what the short film Dead Air is about. It is a strange, but interesting drama and sci-fi film.

The film is a little over thirteen minutes long. But there is a lot of tension and weirdness in those thirteen minutes. Roger does seem a bit incredulous after Julie's constant insistence on what she has heard on the radio. He won't get rid of the radio, and he thinks she might be losing it.

There is a surprise twist at the end that might leave you guessing as to the how, what and why of those supposed spoken number sequences the radio is spewing out.

MarLee Candell played Julie. She starred in the horror short film Limp and shows such as Mom and Me and Last Life.

Douglas Leal was Roger. He appeared in a film I reviewed a couple of years ago, She's Out of His Mind.

Tony Mazur was the offscreen radio DJ. In addition to acting, he was the location manager for the show Living.

Brad Etter directed the film along with being its cinematographer and editor. He's directed several Guy Tang music videos and a few episodes of Dhar Mann.

The film was written and produced by Ashlie Marie Thornton.

Dead Air was a bit intriguing. Just what were those numbers and what did they have to do with Julie? Or even Roger for that matter? Was Julie just imagining things or was there something sinister going on. Like I mentioned earlier, there is a delightful surprise twist at the end that, maybe, makes sense of it all. But then again, maybe not.

Dead Air was an official selection of the Culver City Film Festival last year. It is currently under consideration for the upcoming festival for the Santa Clarita International Film Festival.

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