The Signal

The Signal ***

Directed by David Bruckner and Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry
Written by David Bruckner and Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry

Starring:
AJ Bowen as Lewis Denton
Cheri Christian as Anna
Suehyla El-Attar as Janice
Lindsey Garrett as Laura
Chad McKnight as Jim Parsons
Scott Poythress as Clark
Anessa Ramsey as Mya Denton
Matthew Stanton as Jerry
Christopher Thomas as Ken
Justin Welborn as Ben

96 Minutes(Not Rated-Strong Violence, Gore, Language)
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Now I have only been to the Two Boots Pioneer Theatre in Manhattan three times. The first time was for a special screening of "Hair High," the next was for a special advanced showing of "Severance," and now the third time is for "The Signal," a somewhat messy film but we'll get to that later. But the latter two times I was able to go see a Bizarro Monday-where the theatre showcases "the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff." That is a direct quote from their site, which is posted at the bottom of this review. Now once a month the people at the greatest horror magazine ever "Fangoria" do a special presentation. "Severance" and "The Signal" are presentations from there. And let me just say, I have a ball when I go see these movies, and wish that I could see more. But I can only go with my schedule calls for it. These people at these screenings rock-they understand horror, are big fans of the genre, and during brutal scenes they laugh because they enjoy them so much. That being said, the folks at Fangoria as well as Magnolia Pictures allowed me to see a special advanced screening of "The Signal," which does not get a theatre release until the very end of October-there will be a reminder when this film is released.

"The Signal" begins with Mya Denton waking up after a night with Ben-only Ben is certainly not her husband Lewis, and if he found out she would be in trouble. She can't call him because her phone is dead, and so is Ben's, so she goes back home to find her husband and his two friends trying to fix the television, which has been disturbed with a wild silver flashing screen. Her husband ends up killing one of the friends with a baseball bat, and to Mya's horror random people in the building, in the parking lot, in the entire town, have been just killing people for no reason at all. She hides out, and the next day ends up discovering that the other friend tied her husband up. She escapes, intending to go to Terminal 13-where she told Ben that she would go the next day. We now follow what happens to a group of others-including a married couple who was planning on throwing a party that day-it's New Year's Eve. They eventually end up coming into contact with Lewis, who seems normal at times but sometimes ends up getting obsessed with his wife as he vows to hunt for her if its the last thing he does.

While I watched "The Signal" I was struck by odd shifts in tone in between the first part and the second part-returning to the tone of the first in the third. The film is told in three installments, or "Transmissions" as the title cards point out. While the first and third are grim and morbid and apocalyptic, the second takes a turn with dark comedy including quirky characters (Ken and Anna, and their neighbor Clark), witty music, and a shaking camera. What I learned after was that "The Signal" was directed by three people-David Bruckner and Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry, and the three installments of the story were three different perspectives. One person would do their part and hand over the writing/directing duties to the next. Sort of like a film-making round-robin. This is an interesting way to make a film, and while the tone changes may seemed awkward at times, it just adds to the fun. The middle half was hilarious, and I had a ball watching it. In fact, I had a ball watching the whole film. It's dark and creepy, and the idea is just so morbid and disturbing. There is plenty of gore-people getting smashed in the head, nailed to doors, impaled-but it never seemed too much or just there to gross people out. It fit in a way. The third segment was probably the most difficult to sit through, and the running time is just about too long, but the ending is left open for interpretation-not all the loose ends are tied up and I liked it that way. The ending doesn't really end, but you feel like you've had enough. You feel like you've have closure. There is a reason why Magnolia picked this film up of all of them.

As far as acting is concerned, you could find better but it works within this horror world. And its not all about screaming and yelling and running, a lot of times its about finding sanity within the insane. The screenplay goes all over the place in narrative-sometimes filling you in on things later on, and sometimes you watch a scene and learn its all in their head. There is some fascinating stuff here, and the movie is really fun to watch. I give it a hearty recommendation, and think that horror fans will be pleased. "The Signal" comes out the same weekend as "Saw IV," and out of the two I believe this is getting a limited release. But with the trend of the "Saw" films of late, I believe that this will be the way to go that week. A horror film with enough scares and laughs to be a very filling ninety minutes. And I thank Two Boots and Fangoria for bringing me this special screening, and I hope to see some more Bizarro Mondays.

As far as that is concerned, before "The Signal" there was a trailer for 'Trapped Ashes," and it may have been the most amusing two minutes you will ever spend. Sadly for me, in a way I guess, I'll be in Toronto that weekend for the film festival-expect me to post all about that when the time comes.

For more information on the Two Boots Pinoneer Theatre, Bizarro Mondays, and Fangoria, visit the Official Two Boots Pinoneer Website!