"The Signal" Review - Written by TonyD

“The Signal”
2007
**** out of ****
Director: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry
Cast: Anessa Ramsey, A.J. Bowan, Justin Welborn


“The Signal” is full proof of why I’ve been mad at cinema for the entire year so far. With the exception of “Cloverfield” and that little comedy that every one hated but they all know they truly loved (and when I say “every one,” I mean twelve people), I never really got much out of 2008 so far. Granted, I still haven’t seen everything that’s came out since the first weekend, but if they weren’t anything like “The Signal,” I don’t give the shits coming from Jesse Jackson’s mouth. If more movies were like “The Signal,” I would have turned in my critic badge a looong time ago.

I’m pretty sure that all of you guys know where I’m going when I say how good “The Signal” really is, and it’s not because it’s so different in tone, but it is the way that it describes itself to the viewer. “Why are these people killing themselves?” we’re left asking throughout the movie. The three directors never put the actual idea in front of us. But, if you guys really want to know my theory about the entire film… here you go…

In 2006, Al Gore finally proved to us just how real global warming is. Cities will flooded and the ozone will be defeated. Earth will be nothing. If there was ever a time to do something, it would be now. And how do we do that? We stop using so much damn electric, which includes lights, radios, cell-phones, and a little something-something called the television.

But some of us haven’t been paying attention to the news at all. Some of us still think that global warming is a myth. To prove that we’re right as opposed to Mr. Gore, we turn on as many televisions as we can, talk on the cell-phones for as long as we want, leave lights on during times where it’s sunny out, and listen to the radio when we just don’t need to. The world that these three directors created is this kind of world. If there was ever a time to stand up and scream that “global warming is real,” it will be now.

And it’s because that we keep using the televisions, cell-phones, and radios that some bastard wants to get back at us. I’m not talking about God, but I’m talking about Karma. I know I don’t believe in it, but ever wonder why we go mad without the computer, the television, the radio, or a cell-phone?

Okay, here’s a scenario. You just ended your ten hour shift at work. You come home, get undressed, get dressed back up, heat something up in the microwave, and plop your ass in the computer chair. You proceed to surf on the internet as you turn on your brand spanking new HDTV that you bought with your latest paycheck. You put on the Philadelphia Flyers game and see them get their asses beat AGAIN. But it’s eight o’clock at night, and the sun is no longer out, so you turn on your lamp.

Do you see how easy that is? The world’s population is six billion people. Imagine those six billion people doing something similar to that routine every single day. If six billion people come home and bang your younger but hotter sister, wouldn’t you be mad? That’s Karma’s way of telling us to back off.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. “The Signal” was merely an “experiment,” where one director would start a story, a second director would continue it, and the third director will conclude the story. Each director has thirty minute segments, or “transmissions,” as these directors call it. Originally supposed to be released in August of 2007, “The Signal” was pushed back to February 22, 2008. My lucky ass got a look at it a month before it was supposed to be released, and when I say lucky ass, I MEAN lucky ass. I should have only watched it once, but since I had it, I watched “The Signal” three times. If that doesn’t tell you how good the film is without spelling it out for you, you are probably a douche.

Transmission One (“Crazy in Love” – directed by Bruckner) is merely a buildup to the story. We are introduced to Mya (Anessa Ramsey). Her husband Lewis (AJ Bowan, from “Creepshow III” (and yes, The Wolf, it’s a movie that I wouldn’t even step in shit to see)) hasn’t been giving her much love and attention, so she seeks it from Ben (Justin Welborn). On midnight on New Years Eve, she walks into her apartment complex as people flood the hallways on a violent rampage. She runs right inside of the house, to find her husband and two of his friends fighting while her husband tries to fix the TV from some intercepting signal. Watch this scene carefully and how enraged these characters get.

This is what I looked like when I came out of “Meet the Spartans.”

Anyway, Lewis goes ape-shit and starts killing every one and Mya runs away, looking for Ben. While she is looking for Ben, we go to Transmission Two (“The Jealous Monster” – directed by Gentry). Instead of seeing the events of the film in Mya’s POV, we’re now watching the film in Lewis’s. Lewis arrives to a party hosted by Anna (Cheri Christian) and Clark (Scott Poythress). He kind of thinks that these people know where Mya is, but when they really don’t, he slaughters them all. I guess right here is where I should begin telling you that the change between Transmissions One and Two are very different. Transmission One is a suspense-filled ride and Transmission Two is a dark comedy. You will never notice the difference until you finally watch it a second or third time, but by then, you probably won’t want to watch it again.

Finally, there is Transmission Three (“Escape from Terminus” – directed by Bush). I’m not going to begin talking about the story here just because it’s the last third and I think I really spoiled enough for you, but Transmission Three is arguably one of the best endings that I’ve seen in a long time for a film. It builds up to a very entertaining climax that I guarantee will piss one person off. But hey, more love that I can give to it, right?

The acting in “The Signal” is really, really good. Among the main cast, the one guy that I have to give the most kudos to is Scott Poythress. This guy is GOOD. He can go from being goofy to serious within a matter of seconds. It would take Casey Affleck a longer time to do something like that. Major thumbs up to AJ Bowan too. I know that I said I never saw “Creepshow III,” but I can’t imagine that it is just THAT good. (Sarcasm is a bitch.)

There’s plenty of gore for gore lovers also, especially in the first two-thirds. But I wasn’t happy to see the gore. What I was really happy to see is how much these directors love movies, horror movies in particular. There are homages throughout the movie – ones that I caught were “28 Days Later,” “Shaun of the Dead,” and “Irreversible.”

I’m gonna try hard to not end the review by saying that “The Signal” was awesome, but Christ, it was fucking awesome.”The Signal” comes out February 22, 2008.