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Signal, The
DVD/APPROX. 95 MINS/2008/USA R18+
DVD/APPROX. 95 MINS/2008/USA R18+
8.5
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The Signal is probably one of the most unique independent psychological horror films I have ever had the pleasure of viewing in the past decade.
This film is actually broken up into three segments and each segment is shot by a different director to give the viewer a different perspective to the
film. The plot is very simple to follow as its based around three characters, where Mya is trapped in a obsessed/love triangle while a phenomenal
event causes all forms of communications (phones, radio, television, internet…etc) to become jammed by a mysterious transmission on New Year’s
Eve, which slowly turns people into raging homicidal maniacs or leaving them on the edge of insanity.
The first segment is titled ‘Crazy in Love’ which is directed by David Bruckner. This segment is focused around one married women named Mya
(Anessa Ramsey) who spends half the night making love to her boyfriend Ben (Justin Welborn). When noticing how late it is, she quickly dashes
home to her husband Lewis (A. J. Bowen). Before leaving the apartment to go back home, Ben begs Mya to leave her husband and start the New
Year with him in the country, which he will be waiting for her at Terminus City at terminal 13 on New Year’s Eve. When arriving home, Lewis begins
to pump Mya about her whereabouts since its 1am, whilst his friends try to fix the antenna in hopes to catch the last half of the game. Whilst Mya
is about to have a shower, Lewis zones out by watching the hypnotic images on the television set and then loses the plot and goes into a violent
rage, Lewis begins bashing his friend Jerry (Matt Stanton) head in with a baseball bat. Mya of course freaks right out, runs out of her apartment
slipping on a pool of blood on the floor, while a man holding a pair of hedging scissors massacres everyone in the hallway. Mya locks herself the
rest of the night, curled up in the corner of her neighbour Janice (Suehyla El-Attar) apartment with her ears covered from the screams of those
who clearly gone insane.
The second segment titled ‘Jealousy Monster‘ is directed by Jacob Gentry who focuses the storyline around Lewis who trying to track down the
whereabouts of Mya in the midst of all the chaos. Of course Lewis who is clearly infected by the psychedelic transmission, gatecrashes a New Years
Eve party and then brutally slaughters the guests who are slightly infected, while torturing the remaining hosts in their apartment.
The last segment is titled ’Escape from Terminus’ is directed by Dan Bush. This segment you actually see what went on through Ben’s eyes, as he
takes one of the most brutal floggings from Mya’s jealous husband Lewis whilst trying to find the women he loves in a world that’s coming to the
end. This segment is probably the best one of them all, as it leaves the viewing constantly guessing “who is the husband, who is the lover, who is
the bad guy, which one is infected?”
When pressing play on the remote, the film instantly grabbed my attention as two women are held hostage in a old shed in the woods, as one of
them breaks free, the film kept on flickering on and off with a static sound. At first I thought the cables on the back of the DVD player were
screwed, until I realize it was the way the film is meant to be. Right there and then I knew that I was going to be watching one hell of a film. The
Signal was only ever meant to be an experimental project called ‘Exquisite Corpse’ where one filmmaker would shoot a section of the movie and
then hand it to another filmmaker until he film was complete. With only of a budget of $50,000, Atlanta-based filmmakers David Bruckner, Jacob
Gentry and Dan Bush shot the entire film over the course of only thirteen days with ended up being premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on the
22nd of January 2007.
The gore factor isn’t really mind blowing, apart from the talking head which pretty much paid homage to Evil Dead (1981) or Total Recall (1990).
With plenty of blood-splatter and a glory hole scene which will raise the hairs across your arms, this film isn’t meant to shock its viewers with
constant scenes of blood, guts and gore, though when it comes down to the crunch, The Signal can be a fairly brutal film where the special effects
and cinematography that leaves the viewer feeling claustrophobic certain times throughout the film.
When it comes to the DVD extra department, Madman always manages to look after us, as you are presented with a interesting 15 minute feature
called ‘Making of The Signal’ which viewers can lean a bit more about how the film came together. An audio commentary with filmmakers Jacob
Gentry, David Bruckner and Dan Bush. You also have three deleted scenes titled ‘Extra Transmissions’, a stills gallery and a theatrical trailer. Not to
mention a good handful of Madman trailers.
The Signal is definitely a fresh breathe to horror films, with a very well written script, cleverly shoot long sequences and a brilliant picked cast, I
honestly can’t fault this film much at all. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, The Signal is now available on DVD and is well worth owning. If you are
still unaware whether this film is suited for you, then play it safe and rent to buy, but save yourself that extra trip and take our word, it’s what we
are here for.
This film is actually broken up into three segments and each segment is shot by a different director to give the viewer a different perspective to the
film. The plot is very simple to follow as its based around three characters, where Mya is trapped in a obsessed/love triangle while a phenomenal
event causes all forms of communications (phones, radio, television, internet…etc) to become jammed by a mysterious transmission on New Year’s
Eve, which slowly turns people into raging homicidal maniacs or leaving them on the edge of insanity.
The first segment is titled ‘Crazy in Love’ which is directed by David Bruckner. This segment is focused around one married women named Mya
(Anessa Ramsey) who spends half the night making love to her boyfriend Ben (Justin Welborn). When noticing how late it is, she quickly dashes
home to her husband Lewis (A. J. Bowen). Before leaving the apartment to go back home, Ben begs Mya to leave her husband and start the New
Year with him in the country, which he will be waiting for her at Terminus City at terminal 13 on New Year’s Eve. When arriving home, Lewis begins
to pump Mya about her whereabouts since its 1am, whilst his friends try to fix the antenna in hopes to catch the last half of the game. Whilst Mya
is about to have a shower, Lewis zones out by watching the hypnotic images on the television set and then loses the plot and goes into a violent
rage, Lewis begins bashing his friend Jerry (Matt Stanton) head in with a baseball bat. Mya of course freaks right out, runs out of her apartment
slipping on a pool of blood on the floor, while a man holding a pair of hedging scissors massacres everyone in the hallway. Mya locks herself the
rest of the night, curled up in the corner of her neighbour Janice (Suehyla El-Attar) apartment with her ears covered from the screams of those
who clearly gone insane.
The second segment titled ‘Jealousy Monster‘ is directed by Jacob Gentry who focuses the storyline around Lewis who trying to track down the
whereabouts of Mya in the midst of all the chaos. Of course Lewis who is clearly infected by the psychedelic transmission, gatecrashes a New Years
Eve party and then brutally slaughters the guests who are slightly infected, while torturing the remaining hosts in their apartment.
The last segment is titled ’Escape from Terminus’ is directed by Dan Bush. This segment you actually see what went on through Ben’s eyes, as he
takes one of the most brutal floggings from Mya’s jealous husband Lewis whilst trying to find the women he loves in a world that’s coming to the
end. This segment is probably the best one of them all, as it leaves the viewing constantly guessing “who is the husband, who is the lover, who is
the bad guy, which one is infected?”
When pressing play on the remote, the film instantly grabbed my attention as two women are held hostage in a old shed in the woods, as one of
them breaks free, the film kept on flickering on and off with a static sound. At first I thought the cables on the back of the DVD player were
screwed, until I realize it was the way the film is meant to be. Right there and then I knew that I was going to be watching one hell of a film. The
Signal was only ever meant to be an experimental project called ‘Exquisite Corpse’ where one filmmaker would shoot a section of the movie and
then hand it to another filmmaker until he film was complete. With only of a budget of $50,000, Atlanta-based filmmakers David Bruckner, Jacob
Gentry and Dan Bush shot the entire film over the course of only thirteen days with ended up being premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on the
22nd of January 2007.
The gore factor isn’t really mind blowing, apart from the talking head which pretty much paid homage to Evil Dead (1981) or Total Recall (1990).
With plenty of blood-splatter and a glory hole scene which will raise the hairs across your arms, this film isn’t meant to shock its viewers with
constant scenes of blood, guts and gore, though when it comes down to the crunch, The Signal can be a fairly brutal film where the special effects
and cinematography that leaves the viewer feeling claustrophobic certain times throughout the film.
When it comes to the DVD extra department, Madman always manages to look after us, as you are presented with a interesting 15 minute feature
called ‘Making of The Signal’ which viewers can lean a bit more about how the film came together. An audio commentary with filmmakers Jacob
Gentry, David Bruckner and Dan Bush. You also have three deleted scenes titled ‘Extra Transmissions’, a stills gallery and a theatrical trailer. Not to
mention a good handful of Madman trailers.
The Signal is definitely a fresh breathe to horror films, with a very well written script, cleverly shoot long sequences and a brilliant picked cast, I
honestly can’t fault this film much at all. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, The Signal is now available on DVD and is well worth owning. If you are
still unaware whether this film is suited for you, then play it safe and rent to buy, but save yourself that extra trip and take our word, it’s what we
are here for.
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