The Signal: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Nic (Brenton Thwaites), his girlfriend, Haley (Olivia Cooke), and his buddy, Jonah (Beau Knapp), take an unexpected detour from an idyllic cross-country road trip when they are contacted by a mysterious hacker who has gained entry into MIT’s secured network. But after a rendezvous in an eerily remote area goes awry, Nic wakes to a living nightmare in an isolation unit. Interrogated by Dr. Wallace Damon (Laurence Fishburne), Nic soon realizes that the only way to decipher the past…is to escape the present.
There comes a time in life when you watch a film and you sit back and say “What did I just experience?” and with The Signal that time is now. Sci-Fi movies have always been my thing but after watching ten minutes, if you would’ve told me that this film was in that genre I would’ve called you a liar. It just didn’t seem like it at all but soon it enough it showed it’s true colors and it was fantastic. Weird but fantastic. I think what really attracted me to the film the most was that, besides Fishburne, it was full of relatively unknown actors. Sometimes that can actually help the movie in regards to caring about the story and characters more than who are playing them. Thwaites, Cook and Knapp give exceptional performances that lead you on a wild ride that doesn’t slow down until the final frame of the film and Fishburne gives a very creepy performance which is fueled by his calm tone. The story is so “out there” and crazy that it plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits mixed in with a superhero film. The film progresses steadily and gets you wondering what in the hell is going on but the REAL question is: Does it pay off in the end? Well yes and no. While it does answer questions here and there it ultimately leaves you with even more questions. Not that it’s a bad thing but I don’t see there being a sequel to it (which I hope I’m wrong) but it does leave you wanting to know more. There are some REALLY cool “hero” moments towards the finale of the film that honestly look like they were done with a huge budget but I don’t think that was the case for this film. Those moments made me appreciate the film a lot more though. I dug this film because of my love of sci-fi and it’s cinematography but I say check this out for yourself and let me know what you thought about it.
Special Features:
Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes – A good group of scenes that I really think should’ve been left in for the most part.
Behind The Signal – A pretty good BTS feature that shows the ins and outs of making the film with cast and crew interviews.
Brilliant! – A quick, funny clip of Laurence Fishburne.
