Signal, The

Film Threat Jeremy Knox

If you’re tired of zombie films or rabid people films, Signal is like a cool drink of water on a hot day. It’s got all the goodness from the best of those genres while creating its own niche at the same time.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Both apocalyptic and suitably vague, The Signal's only serious weakness comes from some borderline histrionic performances; then again, it's tough to call hysteria anything other than a sane response to a world gone mad. Crazy, man.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The Signal is like a Romero zombie movie in which the zombies aren't dead, they're just really temperamental. Evil here is technology-born. Maybe our cellphones and satellite dishes are giving us all the crazy.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

The film suffers slightly from diminishing returns -- its first third is by far its scariest -- but it's still a bold, artful take on a popular horror idea.

Philadelphia Inquirer Tirdad Derakhshani

The Signal has its share of things to say about urban paranoia, road rage, addiction - whether to sex, drugs or, more dangerously, consumerism. But it stands apart from other pictures of the same ilk by using its apocalypse as a backdrop to a bitter-sweet love story.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It has a creepy power all its own.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Unlike traditional zombie romps, these crazies don't stumble around mindlessly, noshing on human flesh. They look and act like normal people - until the second they go bonkers.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

The gimmicky yet strangely moving new fright flick The Signal distinguishes itself not through originality, but by smartly integrating just about every popular trend afflicting contemporary horror films.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Cagey low-budget horror flick.

Variety Robert Koehler

Borrowing heavily from the current trend in zombie comedy and apocalyptic horror but shifting it away from the usual undead norms, pic carves out a fresh angle in the crowded indie horror universe while blatantly stealing ideas from Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Pulse."

The New York Times Matt Zoller Seitz

Part 1, directed by David Bruckner is superb, with affecting performances, a sense of dread reminiscent of John Carpenter’s “Prince of Darkness” and many striking images. Part 2, directed by Dan Bush aims for George Romero-style ghastly humor, but it’s more grating than funny. Part 3, directed by Jacob Gentry adds a splash of tragic love, but its preference for gore over feeling becomes monotonous.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Mostly comes down to rage fiends going at one another with baseball bats, knives, pesticide tanks, and power drills.

Washington Post John Anderson

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Just another low-budget effort from filmmakers who mistake cleverness for smarts.

Village Voice Jim Ridley

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

The picture eventually collapses under the weight of its own gimmickry, but it's still an entertaining distraction for cerebral horror fans who want an appetizer before the B-horror feast that is "Diary of the Dead."

New York Magazine David Edelstein

The movie has grand (and Grand Guignol) bits and pieces, but despite the hype it’s no big deal. By horror standards, the premise isn’t especially outlandish.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

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

Chicago Tribune Sam Adams

The Signal combines the inconstancy of an omnibus film with the blandness of art by committee. The end result feels less like a blend of distinct styles than an opportunistic hodgepodge, a second-hand premise wedded to an attention-grabbing gimmick.