On The Line

A late night radio host has to think fast on his feet when a creepy stalker tries to blackmail him live on air after taking his family hostage. On The Line will be available on Amazon Prime from Friday 3rd February.

Featuring Mel Gibson who plays Elvis, ‘the legendary’ late night radio host, a likeable but difficult person with a reputation for pranking his colleagues mercilessly. No one is safe from his scathing roastings especially his fellow host Justin (Kevin Dillon) who he jibes with typical rants that aren’t without humour. Working alongside him is his regular radio show side-kick Mary (Alia Seror-O’Neil) and a new studio intern from London, Dylan (William Moseley), whose English sensibilities and accent are a prime target for Elvis’ pranking. 

With 40 years’ experience at the station, he’s attracted his fair share of weirdos on the late night talk show, although he is more than cable of handling these using his smooth talking radio diplomacy but when his family is targeted by a caller’s (Paul Spera) vendetta against him, he finds himself in an all too personal hostage negotiation live on air. Unable to cut the caller off in fear of him harming his family he’s at the mercy of the caller’s demands.

From French Writer Director Romuald Boulanger, who is someone who knows a thing or two about radio broadcasting as a former radio presenter himself with his own popular comedy show, you might guess this isn’t going to be a straight-forward thriller. The tone is set from the very beginning as Mel Gibson sends himself up as a tortured captive and he fits the bill well as the radio station’s star name with his raspy voice and droll acerbic wit. The creepy caller played by Paul Spera has the sinister menace on the phone as the threatening omnipresent force, which builds along with the body count into a farcical parody.

Whilst the script stretches the levels of plausibility and the clichés become predictably leaden there’s enough at stake to carry the movie towards its live on air conclusion(s) in a pastiche tribute call to the late night radio show host.