What actually happens
Five weeks of no phone calls
Jonathan Rivers is an architect, married to Anna, a best-selling author who is newly pregnant. They have a young son from Jonathan's earlier marriage. One evening Anna does not come home, and she stays missing for five weeks. Raymond Price, whose son has died, contacts Jonathan and says he receives messages from his son and other spirits through electronic voice phenomena, or EVP. He claims to have recordings of Anna and says she is dead. Jonathan is angry and dismissive, but he soon learns she drowned, and the news reports it as an accident. Desperate, he visits Raymond to learn more about EVP, and there he is befriended by Sarah Tate, whose fiance has recently died.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
The radio has opinions
Jonathan records a voice he believes is Anna's and becomes obsessed with contacting her. He also starts hearing other voices that are angry, vulgar and threatening. Raymond is found dead for no clear reason, and Jonathan and Sarah go through his EVP logs. A psychic warns Jonathan that EVP is indiscriminate, so the dead who answer are not always friendly, and compares it to using a Ouija board to summon spirits. Jonathan keeps going anyway, because he still wants to hear Anna.
Messages from the not yet dead
Three demons attracted by his obsession begin following Jonathan. Some of the EVP messages come from people who are not dead yet but may soon be. He hears cries from a woman, finds her in a wrecked car with an infant, and saves the child but not the woman. At her funeral he tells her husband how he knew about the crash, and the man thanks him for saving his son but asks to be left alone. Later, while working with his equipment, Jonathan sees images of a recently missing woman named Mary Freeman. Sarah is possessed by the demons and takes a serious fall from a high-rise balcony. Her image had already shown up on the EVP devices.
The warehouse confession
Following signs on the EVP recordings, Jonathan finds the site where he thinks Mary Freeman is being held, and he tells the police to come right away. Inside he finds elaborate EVP equipment. One of the workmen from Jonathan's own company has been doing EVP work of his own, and he is holding Mary captive. The three demons control him, and while they watch he confesses that he was told to kill Mary and hints that he did the same to Anna. This is the scene to brace for, and it comes near the end. Jonathan tries to save Mary, the demons break his arms and legs, and he falls to his death. The police SWAT team that shows up rescues Mary by shooting the workman.
The ending, explained
Leaving Jonathan's funeral, his ex-wife and his son hear Jonathan's voice on the car radio through the static, saying he is sorry to Mikey. The boy recognizes the voice and smiles. At the graveside, Sarah, now in a wheelchair, is unnerved by strange noises on the wind. Just before the credits, the camera shows an image of Jonathan and his wife in white noise on a screen, and a closing text says that about 1 in 12 documented EVP messages have been overtly threatening.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits. The film does end with a closing text card just before the credits roll.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is White Noise scary?
Somewhat. White Noise is a 4 out of 10 with medium dread: a sad ghost story with a few jump scares, a hostile turn and one rough scene near the end.
How does White Noise end?
Jonathan falls to his death after the demons break his arms and legs, and police shoot the workman and save Mary. Afterward, his son hears his voice on the car radio and Sarah is menaced by noises in the wind.
Does the dog die in White Noise?
No. No dog dies in White Noise.
Is there a post-credits scene in White Noise?
Nobody has confirmed whether White Noise has a scene after the credits. Just before the credits roll, a closing text card appears.
What is EVP in White Noise?
Electronic voice phenomena, voices that people claim to capture on recordings and static. In White Noise Raymond Price believes they are messages from spirits, and a psychic warns that the process cannot screen out hostile ones.
