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Signal, The
Magnolia Pictures


5.4

based on 19 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 19 votes
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MPAA RATING: R strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language and brief nudity

Starring Robin Acker, Jeff Adelman, J. Howard Bach, Ben Bailey, Becky Ballard, Ngozi Lamar Beane, Biluxi, and AJ Bowen

It's New Year's Eve in the city of Terminus, and chaos is this year's resolution. All forms of communication have been jammed by an enigmatic signal that preys on the fears and desires of everyone in the city. Told in three parts from three unique perspectives by three visionary directors, The Signal is a horrific journey toward discovering that the most brutal monster might actually be within all of us. (Magnolia Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Horror
WRITTEN BY:	David Bruckner Dan Bush Jacob Gentry
DIRECTED BY:	David Bruckner Dan Bush Jacob Gentry
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 10, 2008 Theatrical: February 22, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	99 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

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.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.4 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sean R gave it a9:
I loved this film. The idea of media saturation weakening our wills and making us susceptible to baser and sometimes murderous impulses caused by a mysterious cross-media signal--its amazing. the tonal shifts added a lot to the enjoyment as well. Well done to everyone involved in making this fantastic film.

J R gave it a9:
Don't listen to the naysayers. An excellent, highly original take on a worn-out genre. Very intense - can be tough to watch at times, but still highly, highly recommended.

Sean F. gave it a1:
A very bad movie, that starts off with some promise, but only gets worse and worse and worse. The critics that actually thought this was ok, should have their heads examined.

Chad S. gave it a5:
Maybe it's the effects of the signal, but the characters in "The Signal" find new ways to be stupid. First, there's Mya(Anessa Ramsey), who renders herself incognizant to blind spot attacks by insulating herself with cd player headphones(yay! Joy Division!), and then there's Rod(Sahr Ngaujah), who tries to save people from the sonically affected... BY TYING THEM UP?! Still, "Transmission 1: Crazy in Love" is the most successful, the most scary. There's a palpable atmosphere of doom that plays like a poor man's "28 Days Later". "Transmission 2: Jealousy Monster" unravels when Lewis(AJ Bowen) sprays poison in a woman's face, causing her features to deform; then in the mouth, causing her to die in agony. Unfortunately, this is supposed to play like the blackest comedy imaginable. Deadpan, dead woman, deadly unfunny. Her death is gross, and casts a considerable pall over the ensuing proceedings. "Transmission 3: Escape from Terminus" seems unambitious for what it doesn't do, which is, track down the signal. Ben(Justin Welborn) saves Mya from her husband, but we don't know what Lewis was like before he went crazy.

Jay H. gave it a7:
Interesting film, with three stories cleverly incorporated into one film. It can be a bit brutal at all times, but it is engrossing throughout. I liked the middle piece best. I admire the originality of the film.

Andreas W. gave it a9:
Maybe the best horror movie ever.

Fantasy gave it a0:
This Signal is interrupted by ineptitude from the script, directing and acting. Otherwise it is fine! Avoid.

Signal, The Magnolia Pictures

Signal, The
Magnolia Pictures