SomeoneMovie Review: The Signal
July 10th 2009 06:45
Premise: A weird signal begins to broadcast over every TV, radio & phone. Those that are exposed to it have their perceptions warped, suffer hallucinations, and are convinced to kill those around them. The story is told in 3 parts (or transmissions): The first follows the story of a girl name Mya (Anessa Ramsey), who is married to controlling husband (AJ Bowen), but is sleeping with another man (Justin Welborn). The second transmission follows the husabdn, Lewis, and the third follows the lover, Ben.
The Signal should be applauded as an example of low-budget film-making. Despite the use of some pretty convincing prosthetics, the movie relies on clever fliming and non-linear plotlines to tell it's story.
What makes this movie so entertaining is it's portrayal of the signal-induced madness. This movie features alot of hallucinations: Sometimes we know what it is, other times we don't. Couple that with convincing acting from all characters, both lead and supporting, and what you are left with is a highly entertaining use of 103 minutes. One of the goriest points in the movie is when Ben brutally crushes Lewis' skull by repeatedly smashing it with the tank of a pesticide sprayer, and then we snap back to reality and realize it was just a hallucination.
Speaking of gore, there are some deliciously brutal scenes that the gorehounds will salivate over. I like to think the talking-head sequence was a homage to Reanimator, needless to say I was entertained. Possibly the most disturbing point of the movie was seeing Lewis torture a woman by spraying pesticide in her eyes, and then spraying it down her throat to kill her... so there isn't much holding back despite the low budget. The movie cleverly keeps alot of the gore off-camera and keeps the rest in quick shots, making it violently brutal and effective.
The acting, as I mentioned, is solid all-round.
They're Heeeeere
Another special mention to Justin Welborn. I knew I'd seen that face before: He has been in both of the (excellent) Gregg Bishop movies that I have seen, Dance of the Dead and The Other Side. This guy must be having a good run with low-budget horror movies, so keep an eye out for him.
The gore, as I mentioned, is not as plentiful as it could have been, which helps keep the movie from degenerating into a total-bloodbath. That being said, there is plenty of blood being splashed around, people getting stabbed, etc., so gorehounds should be happy.
Perhaps the highlight of the movie, for me, was the second transmission, following Lewis. The middle of the movie contained some delightfully funny moments. Comic relief is provided in the form of Chad McKnight as Jim Parsons, a Quagmire-esque next door neighbour who shows up for a party, ready to have sex and totally unaware of the carnage being caused by the signal. He has a number of classic lines, like "When that ball drops, I'm gonna grab a slut and I'm just gonna pee in her butt!". The humour is totally dead-pan, and utterly hilarious. And then without a second to savor it you are thrust back into the insanity and carnage, which I found brilliant.
Overall, a film with tremendous punch for such a low budget, only being shot for $50,000. Definitely worth picking up, I would probably rate it more entertaining than Bug in the whole insanity/psychological horror department.
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