Scan and Pan
Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Signal
New Year's Eve in the city of Terminus arrives as a mysterious television signal causes residents to become psychotic and murderously violent, while those unaffected fight to survive.
Writers/directors/camera operators/editors David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry deliver an edgy horror film that recalls the early films of David Cronenberg and the apocalyptic vibe of a George A. Romero film or 28 Days Later, making the most of a limited budget by focusing on a small number of characters. The film is divided into three interconnected segments, each one made by a different director who puts their own spin on the story--from horror to black comedy to mystery. Despite three different approaches with multiple changes in tone, the filmmakers succeed in making a remarkably cohesive film. It stumbles in the third segment, the least successful one, but not badly enough to mar the overall experience.
Each director serves as a camera operator, using high definition video and practical light sources to create a documentary feel, matched by the lived in looking sets of production designer Lisa Yeiser (it was filmed entirely in Atlanta). The score by Ben Lovett (Last Goodbye) adds a creepy soundscape to the story.
The cast of unknowns is very effective and easily adapts to the different tones in each segment, including Anessa Ramsey as Mya, a married woman trying to escape the city with her lover; Justin Welborn as Ben, her lover and someone able to resist the signal; AJ Bowen as Lewis, Mya's controlling husband; Sahr as Rod, one of Lewis' friends; Scott Poythress as Clark, a conspiracy theorist who manages an apartment building; Christopher Thomas and Cheri Christian as Ken and Anna, a married couple who live in Clark's apartment building; and Chad McKnight as Jim, a friend of Ken and Anna.
The Signal is worth a look for horror fans tired of uninspired remakes of Asian films or older American films. While not always successful, it works often enough and well enough to be an above average addition to the horror genre.
[3.5 out of 5 stars]
It's a clever indie film that manages to both disturb and amuse, while proving that American filmmakers are still capable of making a decent horror movie, something that seems to be a lost art today.
New Year's Eve in the city of Terminus arrives as a mysterious television signal causes residents to become psychotic and murderously violent, while those unaffected fight to survive.
Writers/directors/camera operators/editors David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry deliver an edgy horror film that recalls the early films of David Cronenberg and the apocalyptic vibe of a George A. Romero film or 28 Days Later, making the most of a limited budget by focusing on a small number of characters. The film is divided into three interconnected segments, each one made by a different director who puts their own spin on the story--from horror to black comedy to mystery. Despite three different approaches with multiple changes in tone, the filmmakers succeed in making a remarkably cohesive film. It stumbles in the third segment, the least successful one, but not badly enough to mar the overall experience.
Each director serves as a camera operator, using high definition video and practical light sources to create a documentary feel, matched by the lived in looking sets of production designer Lisa Yeiser (it was filmed entirely in Atlanta). The score by Ben Lovett (Last Goodbye) adds a creepy soundscape to the story.
The cast of unknowns is very effective and easily adapts to the different tones in each segment, including Anessa Ramsey as Mya, a married woman trying to escape the city with her lover; Justin Welborn as Ben, her lover and someone able to resist the signal; AJ Bowen as Lewis, Mya's controlling husband; Sahr as Rod, one of Lewis' friends; Scott Poythress as Clark, a conspiracy theorist who manages an apartment building; Christopher Thomas and Cheri Christian as Ken and Anna, a married couple who live in Clark's apartment building; and Chad McKnight as Jim, a friend of Ken and Anna.
The Signal is worth a look for horror fans tired of uninspired remakes of Asian films or older American films. While not always successful, it works often enough and well enough to be an above average addition to the horror genre.
[3.5 out of 5 stars]
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