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I had heard about this film for quite some time. It had played the festival circuit and done pretty well for itself. Folks seemed to like it and when I heard that Magnolia had picked it up for DVD release I knew that it would at least get a first rate release.
And that it has. THE SIGNAL looks great and it does have a lot going for it. Unfortunately it also seems a bit disjointed and confusing at times. I'm sure the film maker knew what the hell he meant but I have to tell you, at some points in this film I had no idea what the hell was going on.
The premise is simple enough. A signal starts being emitted, mainly through the TV that once viewed or listened to drives folks into acts of horrible violence.
The film opens as the TV suddenly pops on in a couples bedroom. We quickly learn that the lady is cheating on her husband with the dude she's with now. The TV is playing that damn signal. She realizes that it's much later then she thought and she head home. Once on the streets she quickly realizes that all hell is breaking loose. We are treated to acts of random violence along the way.
Once home we meet her husband who is rather suspicious of her lateness. He has some friends over watching the game or something and they think the TV has gone out because it is only playing that damn signal. Things escalate quickly and before you know it the group of guys are fighting each other and beating each others heads in with a baseball bat. Always fun.
The lady tapes the hubby to to a chair and heads off to get out of the city. The rest of the film is pretty much just her trying to live through a trip to the train terminal, the boyfriend trying to fine her and the husband trying to find both of them all the while eluding all the crazy folks now running around the streets.
Very little if any attention is paid to the signal itself. It just seems to exist and everyone accepts it. This film is about the 3 main characters and all the folks they run into along the way. It's difficult sometimes to know just what exactly is going on and part of the problem is that you really just kind of quite caring.
The premise is good, the acting is good, the effects are very good but when thrown all together it just seems to not ever quite gel.
So, while not a complete waste of time THE SIGNAL does, at least for me, fall a bit short of must see status.
Magnolia does their typical great job on the disc. The packaging is great and the disc is adequately packed with the usual slate of extras.
This one wasn't my cup of tea but it was enjoyable enough to at least warrant a rental and who knows you might find that this is one you can't live without.
THE SIGNAL is available now.
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