The Signal (9/10)
posted in Movie Reviews |
Every once in a while, a small, independent film will come along and redefine an over-saturated genre. Some of the best examples of such manage to both satirize the genre while at the same time excelling at what they are targeting. This is just such an example. It’s one of the great little indie surprise films of the year. I like movies that can find a way to make their low budget work for them.
Writing: Told in 3 loosely connected stories, written and directed by three different people, the film gets to shake things up with different styles and approaches to the material. The middle of the three acts plays at subversive humor, happilly undercutting the genre standards. And yet, in doing so, it gets an extra-creepy feel about it. Then the final act manages to interconnect things and bring the narrative back to its primary focus. For a film that could easily feel disjointed and messy, it works surprisingly well.
Production: While this may be a movie that has a somewhat amateur feel, there’s no denying the success of the creepiness of the style. And frankly, some of the amateur qualities lend to the telling of the story, giving it a raw feeling. It also helps sell some of the spectacularly dead-pan humor, which ranges from broad to extremely subtle. Likewise, the production quality and cinematography figure out how to get in some enthralling material.
Cast: With a roster of actors that were complete unknowns to me, it was a pleasant surprise to see some nice performances. Of particular note is Anessa Ramsey, who plays the female lead. The rest of the cast does an excellent job as well.
Music: Like the cast, composer Ben Lovett is a newcomer of which I had zero familiarity. His scoring is raw, nicely stylized and really hits its marks well. While it might not sound completely like a classic John Carpenter score, it certainly accomplishes many of the same goals.
