THE SIGNAL -- an awesome indie horror film

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sean90291

Veteran
I couldn't find another thread on this film, so thought I should start one.

Just out on DVD, The Signal is a low-budget horror film made by three new filmmakers, I believe shot on an HVX or something (it looks like HVX to me). It's astonishingly good. The Signal has no stars, but is executed with such a sure-handed style that I was sort of in awe. Okay, its first 30 minutes are better than its last, but what a first 30 minutes!

I know it got buzz at Sundance and was picked up by Magnolia Pictures, but I've heard almost nothing more. Indie filmmakers should run not walk to the video store to get their copy of The Signal. Again, the conclusion drags out and doesn't live up to the first half of the film, but watching this film is still so worth it.
 
Ah, the XL-H1. I could have sworn the bright greens in The Signal were a hallmark signature of the HVX. But the XL-H1 has a similar look I guess.

Anyway, all the more worth watching knowing it was shot on a camera you can buy for about six grand!
 
The Filmmakers are members over at XL-H1 user, or whatever that site is.

And they shot in Georgia. <3 Home.
 
Here's the thing with this movie. I thought the first 30 minutes was great. What I didn't like, however, was how the movie did a 180 and turned into like, this goofy fun horror film. I liked it better when it was hard and cruel. I was looking for that the whole way through, so when it turned, I couldn't forgive it.

On another note, I can't believe this movie was shot on the Canon. It looked really good. I was watching The Edukators (german film from a couple years back - anybody know what this was shot on?) and although the lighting in it is great, you can really see that sort of square blocky pixel look that digtial cameras give off. It's nice to know that I wasn't thinking about that at all with this film.

I'm not dogging this movie. It's worth a rent. But I guess I was just expecting something different.
 
Will watch it tonight. :) Thanks for the recommendation. Or maybe I should wait to say thanks until after I see it. lol
 
Interesting film but I REALLY didn't like how it went from a horror film in the first act, to a comedy routine in the second act... and then back to a horror movie in the third act. It ruined the great pace the first act built up.

I understand it was broken into three parts, and had different directors/genres for each part, for a reason. But that doesn't necessarily make for a better movie. It could have been a great horror film if they would have stuck to that genre for the whole thing. Or it could have been a great black comedy (like Shawn of the Dead) if they did the whole thing like that. But having a comedic intermission in the middle just felt out of place after the intensity of the first act and I couldn't get back to feeling any fear or intensity for the characters after the comedy break.

Other than that it was still interesting and entertaining at parts.
 
Yeah, I agree with you there PK. That was the downfall of using 3 directors, I think. I thought there was some great stuff in the 2nd act, but it really shifted tone, and carrying the tone and pace of the first act throughout would have made a better movie for this premise. I did actually like the 2nd act too, but it was really different tonally than the other two. Did you know that there were three filmmakers, and each one got an act to write and direct? Guess it's obvious where that approach can go wrong.
 
Ohhhhh. That's why it turned into a comedy.

I was like, "what the f is going on here??" It just seemed so odd. I had no idea there were three directors. Now it all makes sense.
 
Okay, saw it. Great film! Yeah a bit of 2nd-act suckiness, but it was understandable given the three directors, and it lent a bit of charm to what could have been a very boring segment.

The film is being bandied-about the net as a no-budget shot by some kids with their dad's camera on weekends. If you look at the credits you'll see that this was a big production -- larger that some $5M 35mm productions. I don't doubt that they could have done it for $50K, but it's clear that it was done by professionals.
 
I just saw this. I enjoyed it. I liked the first and third acts the best, but the 2nd act still fit and did make me laugh. I thought it was very well made film for the money they spent.
 
I've wanted to see this movie since the first trailer for it was posted on dvinfo almost two years ago. Where did you guys see it? Is it on netflix?

davide
 
I rented 'The Signal' over the weekend from my local video store (Movie Gallery) because I wanted to see what made it worth $2 MILLION to Magnolia when they bought it.

Forget the story for a moment -- I was interested in production values. I gotta say, it scores VERY high marks in that area. Sound was top notch. Very smooth, even and professional. Camera work and lighting also excellent. Locations were great. Acting was great for the most part, and not bad even in the parts where it wasn't great. I, too, was a bit put off by the darkly humorous second act. It was very well done, but didn't belong in this film.

Editing was excellent!

Effects were great! There was one shot where you're looking at downtown buildings and there is smoke rising -- the smoke was clearly fake. But otherwise, the effects were excellent. Music score was a good fit.

[SPOILER ALERT - Skip the next paragraph if you haven't seen the movie yet]

I did have a little trouble with believability in some areas. Like how can you BASH a person's skull with a heavy object OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER with ALL your might -- and when that person gets up and comes after you again, his skull isn't completely CRUSHED with brains hanging out??? I'm also a bit surprised that the guys unaffected by the signal weren't SMASHING every TV screen they saw that was broadcasting it. Seems like the logical thing to do.

But I think this movie was EXTREMELY well done! THIS is what I want to strive for -- not bloody, gory, violent horror, but this level of quality of sound, camera, acting, lighting, etc. That's what I'm striving for.

A huge 'WELL DONE' to the filmmakers!

.
 
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