Some horror and thriller movies like to give you a back story before the real story begins. You know, the story line before the plot really gets going, that somehow is supposed to give you insight into the characters' psyches, before things start going bump in the night? I have to say I'm not a big fan of them. It's not because I don't like back stories. It's just that most of these movies don't do a very good job with this prelim stuff. The Signal doesn't go down this route. The story is told from three characters' perspective, but the timeline is continuous, and the weirdness starts right from the beginning.
The plot revolves around a mysterious transmission which pervades cell phones, radios, and televisions. It causes people to turn psychotic; they start seeing things and acting upon urges that the signal is seemingly telling them to do. Chaos soon reigns, and we witness some key characters trying to make sense of things as they try to escape people who are bent on doing very bad things to them. And, the thing that keeps one of the key characters going through it all is love.
Too touchy-feely? Nah, don't worry, there's plenty of gore, cat-and-mouse, and dark corners to keep you interested.
The movie does have a few touches of dark humor, with some scenes expertly juxtaposing quaint, normal city life with the weird, chaotic things that are going horribly wrong. These are mere dabs of color, though, as in the end The Signal is a true horror movie.
Throughout the movie, I kept noticing things that looked somewhat familiar. Near the end, it was confirmed: a good portion (if not all) of the movie was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia! That gives The Signal an extra point (I'm a sucker for familiarity).
Overall rating: 8.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 99m
Countries: USA
Languages: English
2 comments:
Hey Zorba. The image of your blue tartan appeared in my google image search - I'm trying to track down a tartan and yours is the one I've been looking for! Can you tell me what it's called. i.e. Stewart tartan, etc? If not, where did you get the image? Thanks
Tom
heathertom@tiscali.co.uk
Hey there - that's the St. Andrews tartan, which is what I wear since a) I'm not part of a clan and b) the blue and white colors match the Greek flag.
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