Signal, The (2014) [Blu-ray]
Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline: R U Agitated?

Academy Award nominee Laurence Fishburne, Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke and Beau Knapp star in this mind-bending and suspenseful sci-fi thriller. Nic (Thwaites), his girlfriend, Haley (Cooke), and his buddy, Jonah (Knapp), take an unexpected detour from an idyllic cross-country road trip when they are contacted by a mysterious hacker who has gained entry into MIT's secured network. But after a rendezvous in an eerily remote area goes awry, Nic wakes to a living nightmare in an isolation unit. Interrogated by Dr. Wallace Damon (Fishburne), Nic soon realizes that the only way to decipher the past... is to escape the present. Critics rave "had Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch made a movie together, it might have looked something like The Signal." - Scott Bowles, USA Today

Storyline: On a road trip, Nic and two friends are drawn to an isolated area by a computer genius. When everything suddenly goes dark, Nic regains consciousness - only to find himself in a waking nightmare.

User Comment: Brent Hankins from www.nerdrep.com • 12 June 2014 -- In an age where astronomical budgets and A-list stars dominate the sci-fi genre, it's seldom that you stumble across a film that strives to present a unique vision, which is precisely why The Signal is such a breath of fresh air. Directed by Will Eubank (who co-wrote the screenplay), the film follows a trio of MIT students on a cross-country trip, who decide to take a detour in order to track down and expose a malicious hacker.

Arriving at their destination, Nic (Brenton Thwaites) and Jonah (Beau Knapp) find nothing but an abandoned, dilapidated structure. Haley (Olivia Cooke) elects to stay behind as the guys explore the grounds, and just as they stumble across evidence that they're on the right track, all hell breaks loose.

Sometime later, Nic awakens with no memory of the previous events and finds himself trapped in a sterile, hospital-like facility, with Haley in a coma and Jonah held in an adjacent cell. His only point of contact is Damon (Laurence Fishburne), the facility's mysterious administrator, who dons a Hazmat suit for every interaction. Damon wants to know everything about "the signal" - how Nic found it, when he first discovered it - but Nic's only concern is getting himself and his companions to safety.

It's nearly impossible to reveal anything more about the plot without wandering into spoiler territory, but rest assured that The Signal does a spectacular job of approaching familiar sci-fi tropes from a completely different perspective. Eubank spent eight years as a cinematographer, and his experience behind the camera combined with his indie-film sensibilities allow him to get a tremendous amount of mileage out of The Signal's $4 million budget.

The pacing is slow and methodical, doling out information in carefully measured doses before opening the floodgates during the film's climax. There are some truly breathtaking visuals here, particularly during the third act, with one jaw-dropping shot after another building toward a startling mindfuck of a conclusion. If you're tired of seeing Hollywood continually rehashing the same boring sci-fi stories with new faces and bigger budgets, then track down The Signal and buy yourself a ticket. You won't be sorry. -- Brent Hankins

Summary: Visually arresting, methodically paced, and almost perfectly executed.

User Comment: robert blau (robert-blau@webtv.net) from Chicago, IL USA • 16 June 2014 -- "Visually arresting, methodically paced, and almost perfectly executed" says another review here. I agree and would add well-acted, produced, and directed. But it still doesn't quite make it as a movie, something with a real story that is effectively delivered and is more than the sum of its strung-together parts. Each scene is fine, but they just seem like a string of episodes rather than a coherent story. One has trouble getting the point and is left somewhat confused and unsatisfied, with the final twist more baffling than impactive. I would say that the words "inchoate" and even "incoherent" can't help but come to mind regarding the film.

Before you write me off as someone who only likes nice linear films where EVERYTHING is made perfectly clear and who can't handle anything unusual, abstract, metaphoric, or different in any way, compare "Signal" to "Dark City", the recent "Under the Skin", and even "THX 1138" (which BTW arguably has a lot of similarities to this one).

Meanwhile, for examples of films that have similar problems as "Signal", see "Citadel" (2012), "Critical Nexus" (2013), and even "Shuttle" (2008) or "Blair Witch Project". I would argue, tho', that most of these, whatever their flaws, are probably more effective at delivering a real story than "Signal". MEANWHILE, to see what a low-budget independent sci-fi movie CAN be, see "Moon" (2009).

Finally, I was just reading a review of "Signal" in which the reviewer mentions another director who started out with a middling low-budget sci-fi film and has gone on to bigger and better accomplishments; he sees similar potential in the director of "Signal". I fully agree. Again, I think "Signal" was impressive and well worth seeing, but doesn't quite make it to the level of a real and effective movie.

Summary: An impressive film school exercise but not quite a movie

[CSW] -2.6- The synopsis and any review, including mine, if it were to be accurate would constitute massive spoilers. So how can I write my review of this movie without those spoilers? The answer is I can't. The movie itself has some intricate mysteries to solve and at the same time is filled with massive amounts of withheld information. Since all good science fiction ends in an idea rather than an action only the true science fiction fans and cerebral problem solvers will truly appreciate the very slow release of information that this film uses to develop that science fiction idea. Others will find it insultingly bizarre, leaving some with zero emotional or narrative closure. So this film can and does create mixed emotions. It can be both liked and disliked at the same time. Be warned that this film is uniquely different.
[V4.0-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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