The Signal

Mya (Anessa Ramsey) returns home from a night of infidelity with Ben (Justin Welborn) just as the tumult begins. Her suspicious husband Lewis (AJ Bowen) is already succumbing to the signal. He kills a friend, Mya flees and Lewis and Ben follow her with varying intent. As the situation worsens, the actual signal is much like the videotapes in Michael Haneke’s Cache; the origin is far less important than the effect.

A directorial trio (David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry) splits the film into three “transmissions.” The result isn’t an anthology, but a single story divided into three basic perspectives, each with a distinct tonal flavor. The first is almost straightforward survival horror; the second black comedy; the third ambiguous terror.

The Signal is violent, grim and unrelenting, despite—and at moments, because of—the mid-section comic relief. Still, it’s a pleasure. As the antagonistic Lewis, Bowen makes horrific acts more unsettling with his composed, mad demeanor. And directors Bruckner, Bush and Gentry, while each technically responsible for their own section, keep the film squarely on track and the signal’s nature vague enough to stimulate conversation about the particulars.

There’s a compelling energy here unique to films that represent an unexpected shot at the big time. The Signal barrels along with little consideration for standard constraints of low-budget horror, steamrolling over the occasional technical shortcoming and moments of flawed performance, generally looking far more accomplished than the slim budget would lead you to expect. This is punk-rock cinema, thrilling and engrossing.