The Signal

Plot synopsis:
Three MIT students – Jonah, Nic, and Haley – are on a road trip to move Haley to California, a decision that stresses Nic's relationship with her. Haley feels Nic is distancing himself from her and Nic explains he doesn't want his disability to hold her back (Nic walks with forearm crutches, and the possibility of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, or some other degenerative disease is implied but never specified). During their stay in a hotel, Nic and Jonah discover that a hacker named NOMAD, who nearly got them expelled for breaking into MIT servers, has found their location and is taunting them with strange and ominous emails. They track NOMAD to an abandoned house in the middle of Nevada and decide to go after him. After finding nothing in the house, Nic and Jonah hear Haley scream and run outside, only to see her pulled into the sky before disappearing into a white light themselves.
Nic, now with the number 2.3.5.41 tattooed on his arm, wakes up in a strange and sterile underground research facility where he is questioned by Dr. Wallace Damon, the head of the "transition group" in charge of helping Nic to cope with his strange situation. Damon tells Nic what they encountered near the house was an EBE: an extraterrestrial biological entity. Nic remains in a state of disbelief. Dr. Damon then shows him footage from Nic's own video camera and pauses where an alien face can be seen peering from behind a tree. Nic is taken to his room where he hears Jonah talking to him through a small vent in the wall, saying "(his) body feels weird." Nic also notices that his legs, previously weak but functional, are now completely numb. When Dr. Damon questions him again, Nic tries to get answers about Haley's condition (she is in a coma at the time), but is unsuccessful. Following an unexplained experiment on a cow in another part of the facility, a security alarm goes off and Nic, along with other personnel, finds large dents with scorch marks running across the walls and no sign of Jonah. Nic asks Damon where Jonah went but Damon tells him that Jonah was never recovered from the house. Increasingly agitated, Nic tries to break Haley out but is intercepted. After being restrained, he's shocked to discover that his legs have been amputated and replaced by prostheses made from alien technology. Nic then uses these super-powered limbs to break Haley and himself out of the facility, only to discover they're in the middle of a vast barren desert.
After hitching a ride with an old lady who seems sweet yet oddly troubled, Nic and Haley hijack an 18-wheeler truck to try to find a way around the seemingly endless canyon that extends around the facility and surrounding area. At a visitor's center, they come across Jonah disguised as one of the facility workers dressed in a white HAZMAT suit. Jonah reveals that he too had limbs taken from him, as his forearms and hands have been replaced with the same alien technology as Nic's legs. Jonah speculates that they're all in Area 51 and that this is all a test. After Nic discovers indications of alien technology also implanted in Haley's spine, the trio drive up to a military checkpoint where Jonah tries to hack into their systems, only to be stopped by a hail of gunfire from the facility personnel. Nic and Jonah hug as the fatally wounded Jonah prepares for his final stand that will allow Nic and Haley to escape. Jonah uses his remaining strength and prosthetic alien arms to subdue the group of soldiers. However, Nic and Haley's escape is short-lived; as they approach the only bridge that would take them over the canyon to the outside world, they run into Damon and his military men, who blow out the truck's tires. Haley is evacuated by helicopter beyond the canyon and, knowing that Nic has mastered use of his legs, Damon tells Nic "you can't reach her." After hearing a loud horn coming from the sky, Nic realizes Damon is NOMAD. Damon then explains that it was Nic who came looking for him, that this was his fault, and adding that Nic is "the perfect integration of human will and alien technology. Our finest achievement." Agitated and emotionally compromised, Nic's bionic legs enable him to sprint at supersonic speed across the bridge in the direction of Haley's chopper where he hits an invisible barrier and breaks through.
Nic finds himself inside what appears to be a different facility behind a projected image of the outside world beyond the canyon. Turning back toward the bridge, he sees Damon remove his helmet to reveal he's actually a robotic alien. Nic walks towards a window and realizes he isn't in a facility, but is on an immense alien spacecraft numbered 2.3.5.41 (matching the numerical tattoo on his arm) that is about to dock at their home-world (signaled by the horn).

Tags: suspenseful, atmospheric

Review:
I would say that the words "inchoate" and even "incoherent" can't help but come to mind regarding the film.Before you write me off as someone who only likes nice linear films where EVERYTHING is made perfectly clear and who can't handle anything unusual, abstract, metaphoric, or different in any way, compare "Signal" to "Dark City", the recent "Under the Skin", and even "THX 1138" (which BTW arguably has a lot of similarities to this one).Meanwhile, for examples of films that have similar problems as "Signal", see "Citadel" (2012), "Critical Nexus" (2013), and even "Shuttle" (2008) or "Blair Witch Project".
MEANWHILE, to see what a low-budget independent sci-fi movie CAN be, see "Moon" (2009).Finally, I was just reading a review of "Signal" in which the reviewer mentions another director who started out with a middling low-budget sci-fi film and has gone on to bigger and better accomplishments; he sees similar potential in the director of "Signal".
Directed by Will Eubank (who co-wrote the screenplay), the film follows a trio of MIT students on a cross-country trip, who decide to take a detour in order to track down and expose a malicious hacker.Arriving at their destination, Nic (Brenton Thwaites) and Jonah (Beau Knapp) find nothing but an abandoned, dilapidated structure.
Damon wants to know everything about "the signal" - how Nic found it, when he first discovered it - but Nic's only concern is getting himself and his companions to safety.It's nearly impossible to reveal anything more about the plot without wandering into spoiler territory, but rest assured that The Signal does a spectacular job of approaching familiar sci-fi tropes from a completely different perspective.
A lot of people are over analysing every scene and image they see in the movie, instead of enjoying a simple story with a lot of photography design.
Great job, Mr. Eubank!I definitely recommend to watch this, for all the sci-fi lovers, and especially the ones that appreciate non blockbuster, plastic, cliché movies, and enjoy different ways of doing cinema..
Those who expected a sci-fi story with a lot of techno-gadgets and special effects are likely to be disappointed.
The same applies to those who are uncomfortable with the concept of victimization, a common basis for horror films and a key element in "The Signal." But those who like to read Philip Dick or who enjoyed "The Cube" will find much to admire in this film, a low budget effort with a smart script..
The film tells the story of Nic (Thwaites), Haley (Cooke) and Jonah (Knapp); three MIT students on a road trip to California.
It's nowhere near the quality of a great sci-fi flick but it is a lot of fun; if you're a fan of the genre.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/NdWU81GeyN4.
The movie is a little slow at times, while the plot is not completely explained or even logical sometimes, but other than that, the film is perfect.What I enjoyed most about the movie is that it is truly original in the way of Monsters or District 9 were.
The movie could have been better -- there is an attempt to show some spiritual triumph for the main character and a love story that doesn't work, but the suspense and sci-fi elements alone make the movie a solid B and worth seeing..
I drove a long way to see this movie and during my drive home, I kept having the ending play over and over in my head...and then the "aha's" started to roll in.
You spend a lot of the movie confused, but might still decide to stick along for the lure of great big reveals of its finale, which ultimately don't feel very shocking at all.Beyond the endless ambiguity of the plot and copious nonsensical elements in the story arc, the film also leans heavily on the relationships between the three leads, which are wafer-thin and under-cooked at best.
"The Signal" not only made me want to do exactly that, but it's so deplorably made and so soporific that I actually felt like abandoning the movie within the first 1/2 hour itself..
I don't mind movies that are vague, misleading, or mystery, that leave you guessing, but this was absolutely ridiculous.I was able to guess the end 20 minutes in, yet there was no hint that my guess was right, up until the last 30 seconds when my initial thoughts were confirmed.This was honestly a terrible movie and a complete waste of time.
It's not even worth pointing out everything that was wrong with this movie.If you've got time to waste, you'd be better off watching paint dry..
I must admit that I had some expectations for "The Signal", which ultimately weren't delivered, because this movie turned out to be somewhat of a joke.The story is about three friends driving to find a person named Nomad by location of his IP address.
When they arrive at the desolate location things start to turn strange, and the friends find themselves in over their heads.Storywise then "The Signal" had some interesting aspects, although I didn't fully agree with much of the story, because it was just rubbish and nonsense.
The acting is not all that but I swear to God it is better than most big budget movies.I have noticed that Canadians can make a good Sci-Fi movie with a low budget.Do not watch the trailer, do not read stupid comments on IMDb, buy some micro wave popcorn, make some pasta, light up a cig, kick back and enjoy this very nice picture..
Similarly we will all rate the same film differently for an infinite amount of reasons, that being said I will give my opinion on the movie based on how it affected me and in comparison to the thousands of films I have watched previous to this one which have also affected me to a lesser of greater degree.First thing to say would be that I knew little about the film before watching it and I think with most films that's probably the best way to approach it as there are a couple of big reveals towards the end and knowing these beforehand would spoil what I thought was a great even if some people have said predictable ending.
I have also read a fair bit on these boards about how this film heavily borrows from other films, and yes I guess it does, but you know what I was enjoying it so much from beginning to end that I really didn't care about where the influences of the film had come from and although I have seen hundreds of sci-fi films over the years I never once thought 'ahh come on that bit is such a blatant copy from 'whatever' film', but then I don't generally go into watching a film with that frame of mind as every film is unique in its own ways even remakes and reboots...I am not saying that this is the best film I have ever seen but I can say it is up there in my top 5 sci-fi films from at least the last couple if not 5 years.
The acting was all round impressive,I thought Laurence Fishburne turned out one of his most convincing roles in years and Brenton Thwaites at times reminded me of a young Brad Pitt.
The story itself held my attention throughout the entirety of the film as the pace was spot on and you never really knew where it was heading and those two things if done well are very important to me in a movie.
But despite this small budget, this magnificent indie has some very successful moments with hallucinatory special effects.Sometimes you watch a movie and you are wondering all the time what's actually going on.
While watching "The Signal" I could predict which way it was going and where it would end up (actually there are only two options to choose from), and yet I was surprised at the denouement.
The entire film keeps a perfect balance between mystery, successful visual images, surprising plot twists, strong performances and masterfully applied special effects.A brilliant, magnificent SF which is pretty captivating through its simplicity and sobriety, and continues to fascinate.
I am consistently on the hunt for solid Sci-fi movies.The good ones leave you interested all the way through and generate enough a mysterious buzz to keep you entertained (some sort of alien or hint of aliens doesn't hurt).
The Signal didn't generate a cuss word at the end but here I am 24 hours later googling conversation threads about the film because i'm still thinking about it and I have questions that the movie just didn't answer.
Great sci-fi explains just enough to create the possibility that you and whoever you watched the movie with could have completely different explanations for why something happened.
I mean, some of the effects look like they belong in a big budget Hollywood film, not an independent movie that caters to a very niche market.
I loved the way they blended in nic's Dream's and the Action sequences and as a idea for a movie, this is one of the most original scripts I have ever seen, except for perhaps Repo: the genetic opera.All in all I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the genre.Awesome work!
Lawrence Fishburne may not have a lot of range, but what he does, he does well.Apparently, the makers didn't think today's viewers would settle for that sort of thing, so about three quarters of the way through, it takes an abrupt turn to Stupid Town, and the try to jam every cliché trope we've come to expect from more modern sci fi: implausible escapes, contrived chase scenes, ridiculous shoot-em-ups, and Matrix-style special effects.
The 1st act arc of the film is apparently targeting wanna-be millennial hackers with a cursory knowledge of computer science driven by raging hormones..i.e the squishy female character that serves not as any kind of role-model for budding female engineers, but rather an object of frustrated teen-geek lust.Can't say how the rest of this crap turned out, but I can usually tell a could film withing the first act at least.If you want to see a good 'hackers-against-the-world' flic, try "Sneakers." Anybody with at least a passing knowledge of Wireshark, will laugh at this lame attempt to captivate the 'dark-web' crowd..
In all, I was very disappointed with this film and the whole "out in the wilderness" aspect, became boring and uninteresting after a while.Budget: $4million Worldwide Gross: $2millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their sci-fi thrillers about 3 computer geniuses who end up in a mysterious facility after following a hack on there computer.
This movie raises more questions laying out 'clues' for the audience than it bothers to answer, until the very end's 'big payoff', which was a laughably half-assed attempt at plot-twist.
The third act has some impressive special effects, but as if the first 2/3 of the movie wasn't slow enough, the film bombards us with more 'look-at-me-dying-slowly-as-I-do-some-heroic-crap' montages and sentimental 'flashback', nature-scenery and carnival-rides crap.This is the last time that I would ever watch any unknown 'indie' trash from some unknown director simply basing it off of a mildly intriguing poster art and title..
Other than that, there's decent acting performances by Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke and Matt Damon.It's an independent science fiction film, but like several blockbuster sci-fi, it's not bringing anything new to the table..
Only one scene was SF, otherwise nothing.Secondly, I expected to have some action somewhere, but cameras have revealed too much slow & motion effect, which seems unoriginal.And thirdly and finally, all related to lack of originality, the film is a lot of scenes copied from a series like "Roswell" and movies like "Dark City" and "Cube".
I'm convinced people that didn't enjoy this film simply need everything explained in every movie they watch I mean SPELLED OUT for them.
I give it a 10 for all over quality from the plot twist to the action cgi it's a cool movie and I especially loved the ending..
From trivia section: "Director Eubanks wanted the viewer to continually feel they nearly have a grip on where the film is going; only to have their notions fall apart when the direction changes again - all the way to the very end."Yeah well, if you're like me and have seen a lot of sci-fi movies, TV shows, played a lot of games, then you'll see all twists coming a miles away.That said, it's still a entertaining movie with nice enough CGI that isn't overdone (probably to keep the budget down).
Do not expect a film where everything is explained or else you will be disappointed.If you enjoy science fiction in general and original story lines with rather unknown actors go watch The Signal.
However if you have seen a lot of scifi movies then you will probably know the whole plot and its "twists" by watching the first 30mins of it..
Imagine a porn movie without nudity.;well this is such a science -fiction movie without any science ...and fiction is not well either!..A Bruce Willis die hard genre seems like an intellectual art work in front of this garbage.Its filled with plot holes, in accurateness ...absolute stupidities but thats okay , whats worse is its neither had a good story nor even good acting by main characters.
This is the type of movie for Sci-Fi people who like to make up their own minds as to what happened and why.
The premises of this movie are good enough to encourage someone to watch it, but then the plot becomes boring and unoriginal.
Good mix of imagery , music and good rhythm of facts happening.Makes you a bit confused, makes you want to realize what is happening.The Plot is interesting, i would say is a very good Thriller, that could explored just a bit more on the Alien experience.But at the same time, i liked the fact that you just know as much as the characters.Its no an easy movie to watch if you're looking just entertainment, but it's a smart good looking one.
Not that Fishburne's role is impressive in any way; this role is the most arid he's ever played in my opinion, and sadly drops his status again a bit more on the scale for me.So if you want a movie that looks very impressive, but then ends in total stupidity, and you're willing to not give a sh*t about that, then you're in for a treat!.
I feel like this movie needs a remake or something where they end it completely different.
Maybe if you want to analyse it and try to find the story/meaning, but that is not the reason I watch movies..
Story wanders around through several different genres, can't decide what kind of movie it wants to be and tosses in a couple action sequences to make the viewer think the plot must be going somewhere.
A superb different aspect of a sci fi movie and a must see for like minded fans of the unknown!
It's only Hayley's character, played sparingly by Olivia Cooke, that seems a little flat, maybe the male writers haven't got in touch with their feminine sides yet.This is a slow burner of a film which builds slowly up to major reveals, action sequences, and the big reveal at the end, which you know is coming because in sci-fi something big has to be revealed.
However, there are also disjointed flashbacks, which only serve to confuse, but this may be the director trying to show Nic's confusion of the situation, though, this didn't work for me.If you love science fiction then this film is worth at least one watch..
This is not to say this film is better, it is not, but for what it is, it is a great sci-fi thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and will leave you with much to think about by the time it ends, if you do not mind slower paced films.
I would call the pace of this movie a slow burn, it does pick up a bit towards the end, but it stays pretty consistent, and gives you very little answers until the very end.I would love to see more sci-fi films that utilize a relatively small budget so well.
The Signal wasn't quite what I expected and I'm thankful that I had gotten to see it and I recommend anyone who likes sci-fi films to give it a shot.The Signal's cast was perfect for this movie, everyone did a great job on their roles.
The Signal is a movie still worth watching (especially if your a sci-fi fan), rememberable for its original story, tension and unexpected twists  just sadly not its characters..
I can't discuss the rest of the characters without, again, taking away from your movie watching experience.I wholeheartedly recommend this film for ages 13 to 18 because of the difficulties around following the plot, some very intense and violent situations and also, there is a lack of dialog.
At first, I was very hesitant about this film because it starts off a bit slow and is, as you know, confusing as heck, but after watching it all the way through I give The Signal 5 out of 5 stars and am eager to see it again.
If you're into sci-fi film, aliens or just want a mind-bending experience, then check out The Signal in theaters now.
That's the mystery in which you have to solve along with Nic when watching this Twilight Zone inspired movie, The Signal.
He wants to answer all of Nic's questions but does not by donning that Morpheus-like stance and character tone ....only giving what you need to know until finally revealing his movie-ending surprise, And believe, SouthSide, it will blow you away.
In some movies, we learn about characters and their motivations too soon or too late, or that it can be all over the place, but with The Signal, we get it all as the film goes on.