The Signal (2007/I)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Directors:

David Bruckner
Dan Bush
(more)

Writers:

David Bruckner (screenplay) &
Jacob Gentry (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 July 2008 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Do you have the crazy?

Plot:

A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television. |

Plot Keywords:

Hammer | Flashback | Self Mutilation | Distortion | Shot In The Stomach

Cast

Anessa Ramsey	...	Mya Denton
Sahr Ngaujah	...	Rod (as Sahr Nguajah)
AJ Bowen	...	Lewis Denton
Matthew Stanton	...	Jerry (as Matt Stanton)
Suehyla El-Attar	...	Janice
Justin Welborn	...	Ben Capstone
Cheri Christian	...	Anna
Scott Poythress	...	Clark
Christopher Thomas	...	Ken
Lindsey Garrett	...	Laura
Chad McKnight	...	Jim Parsons
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robin Acker	...	Random Body
J. Jacob Adelman	...	Random Body (as Jeff Adelman)
J. Howard Bach	...	Deranged People
Ben Bailey	...	Random Bodies
Becky Ballard	...	Deranged People
Ngozi Lamar Beane	...	Stuggling People / Bodies
Biluxi	...	Standing People
Claire Bronson	...	Sightless Woman
David Bruckner	...	Screaming Man
Jenna Burke	...	Dead People Party
Johnny Burke	...	Dead People Party
Joy Burke	...	Dead People Party
Dan Bush	...	Screaming Man
Jennifer Caldwell	...	Voice Extra
John Clifton	...	Maintenance Man
Terril A. Closs	...	Random Bodies
Tiffany Dennise	...	Random Bodies
Robyn Elder	...	Standing People
Alexis Hale	...	Random Body
Nikki Hansen	...	Deaf Woman
Quillian Hightower	...	Random Bodies
Scott Hodges	...	Random Body
Marirosa Hoffman	...	Random Body
Mark Holbrook	...	Struggling People / Bodies
Lawrence Johnson	...	Stairwell Fighter
Tonya Kennedy	...	Struggling People / Bodies
Robert Lane	...	Random Bodies
Ryan Lewis	...	Screaming Man
Nicholas Lyle	...	Dead body
Tracy Martin	...	Angry woman
Angele Masters	...	Severed Woman
Marc McPherson	...	Man with Hammer
Stacy Melich	...	Hedgeclipper Steven's Wife
Crystal Mitchell	...	Random Body
Edward Morgan	...	Arguing Man
Alexander Motlagh	...	Chainsaw Man
Jeremy Motlagh	...	Stuggling People / Bodies
Eric Pace	...	Stuggling People / Bodies
Kasey Perdue	...	Random Body
Bill Rampley	...	Random Body
Melissa Randle	...	Random Bodies
Peggy Randle	...	Random Body
Kid Richmond	...	Man on Fire
Robert Sanders	...	Homeless Vet
Robert Sterling	...	Shot Dead
Willie Stodhill	...	Struggling People / Bodies
David Strickland	...	Random Bodies
Crystal Thomas	...	Deranged People
Patrick Thompson	...	Random Bodies
Marcellus Thurman	...	Random Bodies
Tristan Towne	...	Ducttaped Woman
Jeremy Turner	...	Boy on Dirt Bike
Joseph Waldrop	...	Random Bodies
Thomas Wallis	...	Dead Boy
Jenelle Warner	...	Random Bodies
Steve Warren	...	Pajama Man
Steven Westdahl	...	Hedge Clipper Steven
John Wroblewski	...	Random Bodies
Pat Yeary	...	Police Woman
Heather Young	...	Random Bodies
Michael Germon	...	Hallway Body (uncredited)
Kalina McCreery	...	Tongueless Woman (uncredited)
Rebecca Napier White	...	Hallway Body (uncredited)

Directed by
David Bruckner
Dan Bush
Jacob Gentry

Writing credits
David Bruckner		(screenplay) &
Jacob Gentry		(screenplay) &
Dan Bush		(screenplay)

Produced by
David C. Ballard	....	executive producer
Linda Burns	....	consulting producer
Hilton Garrett	....	executive producer
Jacob Gentry	....	producer
Alexander Motlagh	....	producer
Morris Ruskin	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ben Lovett

Film Editing by
David Bruckner
Dan Bush
Jacob Gentry
Alexander Motlagh		(co-editor)

Production Design by
Lisa Yeiser

Makeup Department
Samantha Cobb	....	special makeup effects artist
Zoë Cooper	....	assistant makeup artist (as Zoe Cooper)
Gretchen Mathis	....	key makeup artist
Toby Sells	....	special makeup designer
Toby Sells	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Alex Orr	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott Balzer	....	second assistant director
Seth Zimmerman	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Damian Dunn	....	property master
Mike German	....	swing gang
Michael Germon	....	art assistant
David Littleton	....	swing gang
Jason Price	....	construction coordinator
Danika Von Gesjen	....	swing gang

Sound Department
Michael McReynolds	....	sound designer
Jeremiah Prescott	....	sound designer
Aron Siegel	....	sound recordist
Thomas Ward	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Samantha Cobb	....	special effects technician
Gretchen Mathis	....	special effects assistant
Toby Sells	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Michael McReynolds	....	visual effects

Stunts
Kid Richmond	....	stunt coordinator
Kid Richmond	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Hugh Braselton	....	grip
Mike Brune	....	grip
Christopher Campbell	....	gaffer
Dessie Coale	....	electrician
Nick Hiltgen	....	camera operator
Bobb Lovett	....	electrician
Daniel Pederson	....	electrician
Adam Pinney	....	grip
Adam K. Thompson	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Josh Borger	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Zoë Cooper	....	script supervisor (as Zoe Cooper)
Nikki Hansen	....	assistant to producer
Nikki Hansen	....	production assistant
Seth Joiner	....	script supervisor
Joseph Lawsky	....	production assistant
David Magdael	....	publicist
Jessica Miller	....	assistant to producers
Susan Neal	....	production assistant
Katie Rowlett	....	production coordinator
Chris Tsambis	....	production assistant
Rebecca Napier White	....	production assistant (as Rebecca White)

Thanks
Sam Eigen	....	very special thanks
Stephen Macy	....	special thanks
Shawn Marchetti	....	very special thanks
Brandon Paine	....	very special thanks
Shannon Rawls	....	special thanks
Brian Sweet	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• POP Films
• Shoreline Entertainment

Distributors

• A-Film Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (all media)
• Magnet Releasing (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• One Movie (2007) (Italy) (all media)
• VVS Films (2008) (Canada) (all media)

Other Companies

• Lab 601  post-production facilities
• Shoreline Entertainment  worldwide sales
• William Morris Independent  filmmakers representation

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

USA:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

POP Films

Trivia:

The opening sequence is an excerpt from "The Hap Hapgood Story," a winning entry in the 48-hour film festival directed by Jacob Gentry.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the third part of the film, when Lewis is confronting Ben in the street after Mya has driven away, a shot of Lewis clearly shows Mya's car still parked in its spot behind him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ben: What was that? That was strange.
Mya Denton: [in bed] Come back.
Ben: The TV turned itself on.
Mya Denton: [reaching out] Come back.
Ben: Okay.

21st Century paranoia horror at its very best...

From time to time, I stumble across movies that I know nothing about, and under normal circumstances probably wouldn't be that inclined to see. Even as an avid horror buff, low budget titles like this tend to slip through the net usually simply due to their lack of big name distribution.

Let's hope that with "The Signal" however, this doesn't happen.

Why? Because this movie is powerful, thoughtful and downright terrifying in its execution.

The movie opens with a young couple, Mya and Ben, in a tryst where it soon becomes apparent that Mya is married but very much not in love with her husband, Lewis.

Suddenly the TV is blasted on, transmitting a noisy psychedelic signal which is echoed throughout every other media form from radio to mobile phones.

Mya leaves Ben to return home to her husband only to find everyone going crazy... possibly even her own husband. Thrown into a violent and chaotic world, the story focuses on the three of them and the truth about their intertwining relationship as the city of Terminus literally goes to hell around them.

The film's three directors each take on board a different aspect of the overlapping narrative, with the running time evenly divided into 3 parts. Transmission 1 examines the initial outbreak and its effects on the main protagonists. Transmission 2 looks at the ensuing madness from the perspective of one of the afflicted (a very creepy concept which is notoriously tough to execute, but is worked to almost perfection here), and laces it with more than just a smattering of very black humour. Transmission 3 ties up the loose ends of the plot and weaves them all together in order that all main characters collide in a chaotic but much needed denouement.

Brutal, dark and completely absorbing, this grainy DV effort is always believable and therein lies its power. In a society where media has taken over every facet of our lives, technology is rife for abuse, and this movie exploits that paranoia to great dividends.

This original chiller is the American equivalent of "28 Days Later" mixed with Romero's "The Crazies" via Stephen King's novel "Cell".

Some visual and plot aspects may have suffered due to budgetary constraints, but therein also lies its charm.

"The Signal" will surprise, thrill and terrify. In short, another example of modern horror at its brutal and most thoughtful best.