“Do you have the crazy?

An independent psychological horror film. It was originally conceived as an experimental film project called Exquisite Corpse where one filmmaker would begin a story then hand it off to another filmmaker to continue and then to another and so on until the movie was complete. The story eventually took shape and evolved into the the apocalyptic, science fiction psychological horror film The Signal. Written and directed by David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry and produced by Alexander A. Motlag (four filmmakers who have been collaborating since 1999 in Atlanta, Georgia). The movie was completed on a budget of only $50,000 and shot over the course of thirteen days.1

It’s New Year’s Eve in the city of Terminus. All forms of communication have been jammed by an enigmatic transmission that preys on the mind, driving everyone in the city to madness. That is all you need to know going into this film.

I discovered this film online a few years ago. I came to it knowing nothing bar the briefest blurb and I think it sat unwatched until late one night drunk. It was at that, several films in, two people beginning to drift toward sleep stage of the morning. It quickly snapped me from that and sat me up, alert and completely taken by the film.

Told in three “Transmissions”, The Signal roars to sudden life with an opening that will make you both sit up, wonder if you put on the right film and have instant second thoughts. The first Transmission changes gears a couple of times and scores as a fascinating opening to a film that is a blend of genres. The acting in most parts is superb and at times feels less like cinema but theatre. The dialogue works well and is often quick fired between the characters to great effect in the proceedings of a total break down of society.

While reminiscent of other films where most if not all of humanity loses its mind in some shape or fashion and the subsequent chaos that erupts. The Signal does very well to carve its own niche in the genre and in many ways seems to have set much of the tone for what would be some of the tweaking to the mechanics of the how the madness works in the remake of The Crazies.

While gory in parts, the violence is often sudden and its jarring quality allows it to never step across the gratuitous mark. Tense yet at the same time, comedic, you will find yourself laughing at the madness of a scene as you will be laughing nervously at what is being said or about to happen. The signal in the film; from the cacophonous blur of images to its undulating near techno-organic thump is used to great effect throughout. Nothing in the film gets tired or feels over worked, it paces itself well and manages to keep rushing toward a great finish.

The Signal has all the hallmarks of a cult classic waiting to come into its own and I can easily see some of its more catchy scenes being acted out by people. They just have that sort of pull.

Try it, but don’t read the media.

The wikipedia article gives too much away, their own website does not even give this gem the justice it deserves. As the last person I showed it to said, “That was fucking awesome”.