Review of The Signal (2007) by Myffubs — 14 Aug 2011

The Signal is perhaps one of the best horror films to be released in recent years. It's highlighted by both its experimental nature and its frightening message, that the media will slowly drive us crazy.

Well, not slowly, not in this movie. While watching television, making phone calls, and/or listening to the radio, the citizens of Terminus are susceptible to becoming violent raving lunatics thanks to a mysterious signal.

It's reminiscent of body snatcher and zombie films, but there is an eerie sort of twist: those affected by the signal have no idea that anything is wrong with them. Instead, they view others as threats to their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

As one of the Affected states, "It's telling me what I should do, what I should want. I want my wife, and I want my home, and I want all you people to stop bothering us." Of course, this is first and foremost a horror film, and The Signal never gets too heavy-handed in the delivery of its message.

It's actually quite scary and funny, and often at the same time. The film follows several characters through three loosely-connected chapters (called transmissions, each created by a different director) that vary wildly in delivery.

The first transmission is arguably the best, crafting horror around uncertainty and building suspense with a surreal atmosphere. The second takes pitch black humor to the next level, yet also manages to include the film's single most disturbing scene.

The third transmission turns the film into a psychological thriller about losing one's mind. Despite this, the film works; it feels like a whole (much more so, in fact, than many other films with just one director).

Sure, there are shortcomings; two of the actors are not exactly good enough to carry the dialogue-heavy climax, which will lose some audience members, and the film's budget is apparent in several scenes.

Of course, these are minor complaints when looking at the film as a whole. It's an excellent horror film that takes a jarring look at the messages of fear we receive from media sources almost every day: the outside world is a dangerous place, those whose views differ from ours are inherently an enemy of sorts, and we must do what we can to protect the ones we love.