instantwatcher.com

The Signal

When the phones, radios and televisions in the city of Terminus begin to broadcast the same strange signal, the transmission breeds jealousy and hate, turning once-sane people into murderous lunatics. A faithless wife seeks the safety of her lover, while her affected husband hunts for her. David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush each write and direct an act of this horror tale that was nominated for a John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award.
HD Available
Netflix Rating: 3.0
Top Rotten Tomatoes Critics

[A] cagey low-budget horror flick. full review

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

It doesn't take long for the The Signal's promising beginning to fade into a haze that leaves the viewer exhausted and irritated. full review

James Berardinelli, ReelViews

None of the rabbit holes in The Signal go that deep. But you do leave persuaded that you've discovered some talented people. full review

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

A movie that explores the common ground between visceral horror and sketch comedy, and finds plenty of it. full review

Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times

The Signal is electrifying, deliciously mad and twisted filmmaking. It's certainly not for everyone, but chances are it will inspire many. full review

Tom Long, Detroit News

With just one compelling sequence emerging from so many filmmakers' efforts, The Signal is decidedly less than the sum of its parts. full review

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

This three-part horror movie directed by a trio of Atlanta filmmakers is set during the collapse of Terminus, a fictional city whose citizens are being driven to rage. full review

Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times

A slasher fest that references such predecessors as George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Pulse, a 2001 chiller by Japan's talented Kiyoshi Kurosawa, while still remaining original. full review

V.A. Musetto, New York Post

Ultimately, The Signal doesn't rewrite the rules of horror, the way those masters did. But its filmmakers do provide a creepy, bloody good show. full review

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

You will definitely appreciate this film's ambition, if not its execution. full review

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

A startlingly original, smart indie film that so effortlessly mixes high-caliber gore, suspense and shocking violence with vaudevillian hilarity, it's clearly animated by the spirit of the classic Re-Animator films.

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer

The Signal is a well-oiled example of that oxymoronic Tarantino phenomenon: the arty grindhouse picture. full review

Jan Stuart, Newsday

In a movie about perception, misperception and the ramifications of misunderstanding, it's a bit ironic that the directors can't get out of one another's way. full review

John Anderson, Washington Post

This Look Ma, no hands! And no head either! horror film makes a Mixmaster stew out of Poltergeist, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Re-Animator, They Came From Within, and Shaun of the Dead. full review

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

This uneven but impressive shot-on-digital shocker earns a marker in the mausoleum of apocalyptic horror -- a genre that's proving (un)surprisingly durable in the new century. full review

Jim Ridley, Village Voice

Thesps get seriously into the roles, rendering the situation that much funnier. full review

Robert Koehler, Variety
Similars Available on Instant
  • Release Year: 2006
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • Runtime: 103 min
  • Available From: Jan 23, 2012
  • Available Until: Dec 31, 2099
  • Remaining: 31636 days left
  • Queued by: 147 people
Directed By
Jacob Gentry, David Bruckner
Cast
Cheri Christian, AJ Bowen, Chad McKnight, Scott Poythress, Anessa Ramsey, Matthew Stanton, Steve Warren
Genres