The Signal

I was really looking forward to The Signal, as pretty much everything I had read about it claimed it was fantastic, but I was still wary. After all, just last week, I had watched Funny Games after reading similar glorious reviews, only to end up wasting two hours of my life on a steaming pile of dinosaur turds. So, with high hopes, I slipped The Signal on, and oh boy, it did not disappoint.

By the way, a note to any future movie directors, any movie that opens with bloody seventies-esque music, effects, and visuals, and then goes directly to a gratuitous ass scene is already number one in my book. Oh, and kudos to the guy who decided to make a "mix CD" a major prop, awww...he gave her a mix CD to show his love...so cute...who does this anymore? I will cry the day we can no longer make mixes for significant others and are doomed to only give mp3 playlists. So unromantic.

The Signal is a horror movie that is so highly creative that it was like a breath of fresh air. It's shot by three different directors, each one doing a different "transmission", which I loved! More movies should be done this way, it's like one of those great comic book series where a different artist and writer do each part. The first part is all visceral super-intense horror, with some great gore, considering the miniscule budget the film was shot on. A signal, natch, is transmitted through all the televisions in the city, causing every human to go balls out psycho and start killing each other. But don't sigh, this is NOT your typical fast zombie type film. These people are actually mentally crazy, and that's the part that's really freaky. The transistion into the second part of the film, which is all dark comedy, was a bit jarring, but I quickly found myself laughing hysterically. The third part of the film definitely slows down a little, and it gets into reality-bending territory, (Can anyone leave the city? Is any of this really happening in reality?) so the horror eases off a bit, but by this point, I was so attached to the characters that I didn't mind. I must say that for a cast of complete unknowns, I was terrifically impressed by all, especially the fantastic Clark character who had me cracking up on the floor. I totally recommend this film, and the disc was packed with great special features, including a bunch of neat mini-films and even another short film along with all the making ofs, commentary, etc. You can even choose to let the actual signal play on your TV, though I wouldn't recommend it. Definitely pick this one up if you are in need of some really creative horror.


So there we go, my first film review of the summer. I will be reviewing a movie a day until the end of August, so check back every day!!