The Signal ***½ (2014, Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp, Laurence Fishburne) – Movie Review

Fascinating if baffling sci-fi thriller starring Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke and Beau Knapp  as three nerd friends who go on a road trip and are drawn to an isolated area by a computer genius.

Thwaites regains consciousness – only to find himself in a waking nightmare, confronted by Laurence Fishburne’s radiation-suit protected Damon.

More than that I don’t want to say – in fact can’t say, as I didn’t really understand what the heck was going on. Nevertheless, I stayed involved and impressed by the film’s visual style and air of intelligence. Thwaites is a useful presence, and good company on a road trip, and Cooke and Knapp are good companions for him, with Fishburne authoritative and menacing, as usual.

Co-written and directed by William Eubank, The Signal ends up as a haunting, rare original, mixing computer hacker, alien encounter and government conspiracy themes to come up with something completely different. It recalls Donnie Darko a little bit. It’s not nearly as good but it’s still really impressive and certainly in that ballpark of special film-making.

To enjoy the ride, you have to take it on its own terms and at its own speed, and succumb to its weird, nightmarish little spell.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

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