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Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: September 23rd, 2014.
Director: William Eubank
Cast: Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp, Lin Shaye, Robert Longstreet
Year: 2014
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The Movie:
In the realm of DTV sci-fi, director William Eubank's THE SIGNAL manages to be just a little bit more ambitious than most of its brethren. This isn't the dumb action fun of a BATTLE OF THE DAMNED but it isn't the muddled mess of a TRIPLE HIT either. More in line with smarter films like LOOPER, THE SIGNAL is both well-written and genuinely engaging.
Three MIT students are on a road trip as the film begins. Our lead character Nic (Brenton Thwaites), Hayley (Olivia Cooke) and Jonah (Beau Knapp) aren't just out for fun and games though. They are combining some bucolic scenery with the hunting down of a devious computer hacker. After a brief stop at a gas station and getting what they believe to be close to the lair of their target at an abandoned structure when some strange stuff starts going down. Next thing you know we are with Nic in an interrogation room. This is where THE SIGNAL gets decidedly strange. This space is straight out of a Stanley Kubrick nightmare. Blinding sterile white walls and a fully Hazmat-suited Damon (Laurence Fishburne) sitting at a table are the only things in it. Nic is under intense questioning from Fishburne's character - a government agent of some sort. It also looks like Nic's friends have disappeared. And Nic is in a wheelchair. As Nic and Damon verbally spar via some terse and mysterious dialogue, the audience is invited to try to unravel this mystery.
Plot summaries are best avoided for films like THE SIGNAL. While clearly indebted to THE MATRIX, this film has the soul of arthouse late 60's/early 70's existentialist science fiction. The script plays around with Area 51, isolationist and hallucinatory imagery and non-linear storytelling. There's also a slight horror underpinning going on too. THE SIGNAL has some truly unsettling images like a cow in an inappropriate setting that conjure up the weird spirit of Salvador Dali paintings (I kept thinking of those melting clocks throughout the movie).
Eubank didn't have a big budget to work with on this film but you wouldn't know that from looking at it. The fx are of a uniformly high standard and the feature is nicely shot. There has been some pretty strong criticism of the film's ending in some quarters but frankly this one just isn't designed for a clean wrap up. A lot of the narrative drive is cloaked in purposeful ambiguity which tends to preclude the kind of neatly tied bow on a box endings that less ambitious films are prone to. Settle in for the ride and let this one attempt to blow your mind - just a little bit - and you'll be fine.
Video/Audio/Extras:
THE SIGNAL looks mighty fine in its AVC encoded 2.40:1 1080p transfer. There's some intentional color manipulation on display so reds and other bright colors sometimes flare - but there is no cause for alarm. The transfer sports great color reproduction, accurate flesh tones and fine detail is abundant. Whether it is the opening establishing shots in the great outdoors or the blindingly white walls of an interrogation room, everything looks terrific. Black levels are appropriately deep as well.
The film has one of the better scores in this genre and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does it justice. The overall sound mix is perfectly balanced and generally on the subdued side but there are a few judicious uses of LFE.
As far as extras go - Eubanks and writer David Fragenio sit for a commentary track and while it is a nice and informative listen in terms of discussing the genesis and creation of the project, don't expect these two to "explain" anything. There are also a few dead spots here and there on the track where the pair seem slightly at a loss for words. Beyond the commentary track, there is a lightly informative making-of featurette that clocks in at just under 10 minutes and a very brief Fishburne gag clip.
The Final Word:
THE SIGNAL is a worthy and interesting film that has fallen under the radar. For fans of quirkier sci-fi this one is definitely worth checking out. Recommended.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
