Today’s quick review: The Signal. While on a cross-country roadtrip, MIT students Nicholas (Brenton Thwaites), Haley (Olivia Cooke), and Jonah (Beau Knapp) take a detour to track down Nomad, a hacker who has been taunting them for weeks. What they find instead is extraterrestrial life. Afterward, Nicholas wakes up in a research facility, where Dr. Wallace Damon (Laurence Fishburne) interrogates him about the alien contact he can barely recollect.
The Signal is a science fiction mystery about a brilliant young man who finds himself in the middle of an alien cover-up. The movie follow Nicholas as he tries to figure out what exactly happened to him, locate his missing friends, and escape from the facility where he is being held prisoner. Several promising hooks and decent character work give The Signal some potential. However, it fails to build on its early groundwork in a satisfying manner.
The Signal has a knack for setting up interesting mysteries. The cryptic messages sent by Nomad, the bizarre incident that occurs when the students try to confront him, and strange goings-on of Dr. Damon’s research facility are all enough to pique the interest of a science fiction fan. The Signal does a good job of stringing the viewer along, incrementally deepening its mystery and forcing Nicholas into a tight spot he must use his wits to escape.
But The Signal has a hard time cashing in on its ideas. The movie keeps adding to its mystery long past the time it should have started to deliver answers. New clues pile up until the twists stop mattering and the story ceases to feel like a cohesive whole. It doesn’t help that the film can’t make up its mind about how much agency Nicholas should have, leading to a stilted plot as the movie vacillates between helping and hindering its hero.
The end result is a midrate sci-fi movie that sets up an intriguing situation but ultimately fails to deliver. The Signal may hold some appeal for fans of the genre, but its weak payoff and odd shifts in direction mean that most viewers will be left unsatisfied, though its ideas remain striking throughout. Give it a shot only if you’re in the mood to pick at a sci-fi puzzle and don’t care too deeply about the solution.
For a darker, more atmospheric, and more surreal sci-fi mystery, try Annihilation. For a tale of first contact with more heart, try Super 8 or Arrival. For a budget sci-fi movie whose hero is trapped in a similar situation, try Infinity Chamber. For a budget sci-fi movie whose story takes a similarly bizarre turn, check out 2036 Origin Unknown or The Beyond.
6.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 for interesting ideas with poor follow-through.