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AJ Bowen, Anessa Ramsey, Justin Welborn

It’s New Year’s Eve in the city of Terminus and chaos is this year’s resolution. All forms of communication have been jammed by an enigmatic signal that preys on the fears and desires of everyone in t...( read more  read more... )he city. Told in three parts from three unique perspectives by three visionary directors, The Signal is a horrific journey towards discovering that the most brutal monster might actually be within all of us.

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58% liked it

2,587 ratings

Critics

54% liked it

67 critics

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Dan Bush, David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry

Release Date: February 22, 2008

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DVD Release Date: June 10, 2008

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Stats: 1,383 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,383)

  • DrZeek
    October 7, 2009
    DrZeek
    Clark: Anna, I need a couple of things that Ken borrowed, namely my hatchet... and some garbage bags.

    An awesome, original, independent horror film. Divided into three distinct parts, all featuring the same characters within the same narrative, but written and directed by thre...( read more)e different directors, the film manages to stay fresh throughout, mixing the tone, providing some fun, and becoming trippy, but nevertheless intriguing.

    The story is set in the city of Terminus. The new year is approaching, but the world may be in trouble. A mysterious signal is being emitted from every TV, phone, and radio in the area, causing anyone who stares at it long enough to become mesmerized in some way, leading them to perform acts of violence. At the center of this particular story, the lead characters are a wife, her lover, and her husband. Each of these characters are separately the stars of each distinct act, or "transmission," as it is called in the film.

    The film opens with an admittedly creepy as well as bizarre couple of minutes from another film, before getting into this story, where the first act functions as a drama/horror film. The second act lightens things up at first, working (well) as a very dark comedy, with the characters being very much aware of the genre cliches. The third act settles back into thriller territory, as well as trying to deliver a meaning to the circumstances seen in this film.

    Lewis Denton: The TV must've gotten into his head and told him to kill you.
    Anna: Yeah, that's what happened to Ken. He was watching TV and it made him go bad.
    [two people run from a man chasing them with a chainsaw in the background]
    Clark: This is without a doubt the most fucked up day in the history of mankind. We should go back inside.
    Anna: [cheerful] Who wants cocktails?

    I had no idea what I was getting into with this film, beyond a basic idea of the premise. I was incredibly happy with how offbeat, yet well made this whole thing was. Each act is distinct, working well for different reasons. The first two in particular have some pretty great things going for it. The first is incredible due to its sound design and the almost claustrophobic hand held style running throughout. The second works due to how well the comedy is balanced, as it is just thrown into this movie, most likely catching you off guard, all while still remaining incredibly bloody. The third is still well made, but bringing in an almost existential reasoning behind the signal is not something easily done within a half an hour.

    So much of this movie is very well done. If anyone is looking for an original horror film, this is certainly a good place to start. Its well crafted, well acted, plenty bloody, entertaining, and intriguing.

    Clark: It was self defense.
    Anna: You chopped his head off!
    Lewis Denton: He had it coming... probably. These are wild times. Everybody's been driven to desperate measures. I guess this happens to everybody.
  • gor41
    August 15, 2009
    gor41
    Very low rent horror with a TV signal turning people psychotic.. Directed by three people in three sections - the second is a misjudged stab at comedy. It should have stuck to the '28 Days/Weeks' vibe of the opener and closer. It tries to distinguish its self from the zombie hord...( read more)es with the varying psychoses the receivers suffer but it over complicates the interplay at times.
  • creepfreak
    May 2, 2009
    creepfreak
    This movie leaves your brain exhausted after it's over. The Signal is a furiously perplexed, brain twisting mind-fu*k, from start to finish. And although for those, like myself, who were able to follow the storyline, there comes a point in the movie were you just say "fu*k it." Y...( read more)ou remove your thinking cap, and still with acceptance and understanding of it's overall outline, you let the movie speak on it's own terms through methods of loopy insanity, and just watch as it does the thinking for you with displays of mayhem and bloody carnage. You won't grab a hold of this movie, it grabs a hold of you, and like it's characters as they quickly loose their minds through frequency levels, you'll loose yours through your TV set. It's a wicked experience for sure, but one that's also quite a mess.

    My complaints would be the pace of the film. It's too quick and flashy for a movie of it's kind, with such a complex story. It's a story that has a lot more going on than what they actually show. With a story like this you shouldn't dive into the action right away, but yet get the characters acquainted, and ease us into the story a little more before just jumping into apocalyptic mayhem. Every good script should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The Signal just has a middle, if you catch my drift. There was a lot more of a story to be told here. It was like taking a Stephen King novel and fitting it into 35 minute sitcom. It just wouldn't work at all. But than again, it worked on behalf of the whole "insanity" concept, only it screamed out greater potential more than what was actually offered to us.

    My other complaint is the idea of them using as much comedy as they did. At first the movie took a serious tone, one that was very disturbing, then 40 minutes into the film it pulled a spoof like sense of humor from it's ass. And about 35 minutes after that, the movie was dead serious again. The outrageous humor in the middle just didn't fit, it didn't go along well with the story, it didn't need it, and it will most likely throw a lot of people off. Almost like an anthology film The Signal was told in separate stories, but unlike like one it was all in the same setting, and with the same characters. But like lots of anthologies, there's always the worse of the bunch, and the middle story is definitely the worse here. The Signal would have been fantastic without these flaws, but in it's own right it's still an enjoyable twisted little flick.

    The acting was good enough, the script was well thought out, and it had a great complex story, one that's disturbing and bloody as hell. I wouldn't watch this movie again, I don't think, but it definitely didn't fail to entertain me this one time. The Signal is a fast and twisted horror gem that'll please most people. It's a love it or hate it kind of movie it seems, by reading other reviews, so you just have to judge for yourself. I recommend this film for horror fans looking for a different kind of horror movie. It's one hell of a ride.

  • ceWEBrity
    November 24, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Loved it! 50,000 dollars never looked so great or played so tightly. Other ultra-low budget horror films haven't got a leg to stand on now. If there's one flaw, it's a little difficult to sell post-apocalyptica on so little money - where are the overhead tracking shots? The waves...( read more) of insane people? The Signal does a decent job of allowing it to the imagination, but still, that lack of scope does shine through at times. Why are there so few people at a train terminal on New Year's Eve?

    The bizarre, and admittedly awkward, tone shift half an hour in will certainly preclude the movie from any sort of widespread recognition, but I thought it added something vital and interesting to a somewhat tired premise. I think genre-bending is still quite difficult for a lot of people to accept, which makes things harder on The Signal's kind of average delivery of its humor, but all in all the reception is indicative of American need for tidy packaging.

    Not just great as a low-budget horror film, but great period, The Signal deserves a view from just about anyone. Shame this didn't get much of a theatrical release.
  • irisheyes686
    November 23, 2008
    irisheyes686
    This movie was really effin weird and bloody. It wasn't horrible, but I definitely wouldn't watch it again.
  • drumpappyhq
    October 30, 2009
    drumpappyhq
    There's nothing typical about this indie film. Everything is put together near perfectly and I was shocked by the totally believable cast. The film is crazy, literally.
  • ShellyLuca
    September 27, 2009
    ShellyLuca
    Intelligent and clever....funny
  • JayeeBeee
    September 22, 2009
    JayeeBeee
    Plot: Good game plan
    Acting: Total cheese
    Special Effects: Typical MoreGore Horror

    The Skinny: Complete mind blender..
    Get ready for 28 Days Later meets Stephen King?s Cell as directed by Quentin Tarantino! Basically the movie is made up of three parts and it really feels l...( read more)ike it was directed that way. I?m guessing each director rather than collaborating with each other decided to just make their own parts and them slam ?em together. It was like three different movies seriously. In the first part we get the horror and gore, a strange transmission is broadcasted on all tv channels and phone lines [excuse me Mr. King, may we borrow this..]. The transmission kind of reminds me of something they probably showed at the Kool-Aid acid tests or maybe a Phish show. But instead of dancing in circles and sucking nitrous everybody gets full of rage and kills each other [you don't need this anymore do you 28 Days Later?] In the second part we get the laughs and gore. I?m still trying to figure out if the humor was on purpose. Using satire similarly used in the movie Feast. Either way, it?s freakin? heeheelarious! In one scene this wife is filling balloons with an air pump and next thing you know she jams the pump in her husband?s neck, well he did have it coming. Although I don?t know if she needed to actually pump it after. I?m telling you, crazy shit! So after the funny director had his way we get to the third part. This poor schlub had the job of pulling it all together into a movie worthy ending. Probably the only one with any schooling, his two buddies were like ?dude?you know you?re the only one who can end this!? Of course the class he took was taught by Tarantino because there were more flashbacks and flashforwards then Pulp Fiction and both volumes of Kill Bill combined! With all this said, this is one of those movies you just can?t stop watching. You have the curious feeling that you shouldn?t be liking this but hey wtf this movie is just too weird not to take it to the finish line. I will leave you with this though - I can?t stop thinking that this is why ?they? want us to buy those converter boxes?..

    Best scene in the movie:
    As Mya leaves her apartment, she nonchalantly puts on her headphones while she steps over bodies from the aftemath.

    The Verdict:
    Thumbs up! You should watch this peculiar movie, dude!
  • scottydgibbs
    September 19, 2009
    scottydgibbs
    a low budget effort, diy style, making great use of what they got. a signal from tvs make people start killing one another,and no one trusts no one, and when a group of these peope end up together, there minds turn, the et up is pretty good,watching the attacks begin, for a d.i.y...( read more) efort its pretty inventive, it doe dip a bit in 2nd half,but teres enoug good moments and humour to keep it going, some acting stands out and some doesent, a pretty good effort
  • Xicanaeroboi
    September 7, 2009
    Xicanaeroboi
    This movie will catch you off-guard, make you laugh hysterically, and make you question whether the person beside you is going crazy... or you are.

View All The Signal Reviews

Critic Reviews

February 22, 2008
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

With just one compelling sequence emerging from so many filmmakers' efforts, The Signal is decidedly less than the sum of its parts. full review

February 22, 2008
Kurt Loder, MTV

...a film-school genre exercise more than anything else; and being hyperbolically bloody in a very familiar way, it just isn't scary. full review

October 21, 2007
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

This low-budget horror film charts the fallout from a mysterious media transmission that cognitively rewires people into killers, and eventually turns out to be an imbalanced project that delivers inc... full review

View more The Signal reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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