Killer on the Air, a new B-movie thriller, puts a tough-love radio host to the test when an aggrieved caller threatens to kill her husband's lover. Jessica Morris stars as Sarah, the presenter of a call-in show who finds her moral consistency challenged live on air.
The film begins with Sarah on the verge of signing a major New York contract, but her week is disrupted by a bomb scare and then a blockade of her phone lines by Edward, an abusive husband whose wife Sarah previously advised to leave him. Edward demands moral consistency, revealing he has proof of Sarah's sham marriage: her husband's lover Alice, locked in his shed.
Edward imposes two rules: no police and complete honesty when he asks questions. As the minimalist duel between Sarah and Edward unfolds, the film becomes increasingly compelling. Morris captures Sarah's theatrical bedside manner and her surrender to candidness under pressure, with Edward gloating about her 'breakthrough'.
The backstory effectively explains how Sarah's empathetic yet judgmental style stems from her parents. However, the subplot involving her husband and a detective feels obligatory, and Haylie Duff's direction is pedestrian. Nonetheless, the film intriguingly explores performative emotions and the authenticity fetish of the podcast age.
