Review of The Signal (2007) by Tapio W — 06 Oct 2009

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 three 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.