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The Signal
2014 97 min United States of America PG-13 12+
★5.8
Thriller, Science Fiction
Director: William Eubank
Trailers
Description
On a road trip, Nic and two friends are drawn to an isolated area by a computer genius. When everything suddenly goes dark, Nic regains consciousness – only to find himself in a waking nightmare.
Budget:
$4M
US Gross:
$600,896
Worldwide:
$2.67M
Starring
Brenton Thwaites
Actor
Olivia Cooke
Actor
Beau Knapp
Actor
Awards
1 win & 3 nominations total
Key opinion
The Signal is a polarizing low-budget sci-fi effort that succeeds as a visual and atmospheric experiment but falters as a coherent narrative. While proponents praise its striking cinematography and arthouse ambitions, detractors dismiss the film as a pretentious, illogical, and poorly written collage of borrowed genre tropes.
| Cinematography | Cinematography and visual design are highly inventive, delivering a polished, high-end look despite a modest budget. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is criticized for being narratively incoherent, relying on weak motivations and unresolved plot holes that leave the story feeling hollow. | |
| Acting | The acting is deeply divisive; some viewers find the performances flat and unengaging, while others argue they effectively ground the film's abstract concepts. | |
| Pacing | The film's pacing is a point of contention, with some viewers finding the slow, contemplative tempo hypnotic and essential, while others find it exhausting and dull. | |
| Ending | The ending is frequently criticized as predictable and disjointed, failing to provide a satisfying payoff for the mystery built throughout the film. |