Reviews

From time to time, I stumble across movies that I know nothing about, and under normal circumstances probably wouldn't be that inclined to see. Even as an avid horror buff, low budget titles like this tend to slip through the net usually simply due to their lack of big name distribution.

Let's hope that with "The Signal" however, this doesn't happen.

Why? Because this movie is powerful, thoughtful and downright terrifying in its execution.

The movie opens with a young couple, Mya and Ben, in a tryst where it soon becomes apparent that Mya is married but very much not in love with her husband, Lewis.

Suddenly the TV is blasted on, transmitting a noisy psychedelic signal which is echoed throughout every other media form from radio to mobile phones.

Mya leaves Ben to return home to her husband only to find everyone going crazy... possibly even her own husband. Thrown into a violent and chaotic world, the story focuses on the three of them and the truth about their intertwining relationship as the city of Terminus literally goes to hell around them.

The film's three directors each take on board a different aspect of the overlapping narrative, with the running time evenly divided into 3 parts. Transmission 1 examines the initial outbreak and its effects on the main protagonists. Transmission 2 looks at the ensuing madness from the perspective of one of the afflicted (a very creepy concept which is notoriously tough to execute, but is worked to almost perfection here), and laces it with more than just a smattering of very black humour. Transmission 3 ties up the loose ends of the plot and weaves them all together in order that all main characters collide in a chaotic but much needed denouement.

Brutal, dark and completely absorbing, this grainy DV effort is always believable and therein lies its power. In a society where media has taken over every facet of our lives, technology is rife for abuse, and this movie exploits that paranoia to great dividends.

This original chiller is the American equivalent of "28 Days Later" mixed with Romero's "The Crazies" via Stephen King's novel "Cell".

Some visual and plot aspects may have suffered due to budgetary constraints, but therein also lies its charm.

"The Signal" will surprise, thrill and terrify. In short, another example of modern horror at its brutal and most thoughtful best.

I've always loved Peter Jackson's early movies... "Bad Taste" is one of my absolute all time favourites, and "Braindead" is up there too. When I heard about this one I was more than a little bit excited.

Killer Zombie sheep? Effects by Jackson's own WETA Workshop? A woolly gore-fest?

Can't go wrong... right?

Well... thankfully the answer is a resounding YES!

This movie took me back to the heady days when I first discovered Jackson's genius, sitting in the dark at the Prince Charles Cinema in London as an under-age spotty git watching "Bad Taste" for the first time (when no-one else knew anything about it).

"Black Sheep" really is that good, that gory, and (most importantly) that funny.

The basic premise centres around genetic modification of livestock (very relevant in today's society). When a sheep farmer decides to interfere with Mother Nature in order to create a new line of super sheep, he inadvertently creates a menace that goes on the rampage in VERY large furry numbers.

The best thing about this movie is that the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek whilst still delivering some great scares and gory moments. The final sheep attack is brilliantly realised, as thousands of the little buggers descend on a group of farmers who frankly have no chance. I haven't laughed so much in ages (the foot scene - I don't wanna spoil it - is a killer).

Every conceivable sheep joke is in here, from shagging to farting via an extremely original use of a jar of mint sauce.

And as for the were-sheep transformations (yes, you read that right) well, they're brilliantly realised and a deliberate homage to "American Werewolf In London" (that's coming from the director's own mouth).

Excellent to see a film that doesn't rely on CGI to get scares - this is a physical effects movie that works brilliantly, and reminds me very strongly of the likes of "Re-Animator", where the gore seemed well... more nasty but silly at the same time.

This is a BRILLIANT movie and definitely one for anybody with a sense of humour as sick and depraved as mine. I loved it, and I really hope it does well.

This movie showcases Chris Smith as a real talent to watch for. A really creepy and gory piece of Gothic nastiness, "Creep" does exactly what it says on the tin; it makes you feel unsettled and the running time flies by thanks to a succession of vicious set-pieces.

Franke Potente is very strong as the anti-heroine of the piece, and despite criticisms that the characters are unsympathetic, in my view that isn't the case. By the end you are really rooting for These characters, especially Jimmy. The monster is suitable unpleasant, and the torture sequence towards the latter end is gloriously uncomfortable to watch.

I loved this film; it is a return to the 1980's visceral school of film-making, which is exactly what Chris Smith intended. A brilliant British horror movie, which deserves to be a massive hit.

This was shown at the Frightfest festival in London on Sunday 24th August, and simply blew me away!

This is a rare example of a horror movie that DOES NOT disappoint! After all the hype I was reading on the Net about this, I was hoping that I wasn't going to be disappointed, and I wasn't at all. It was even better than I'd dared to hope.

Yes, it's a homage to THE EVIL DEAD and many other movies from the 70's and 80's, but WHO CARES!! That's not the point - what true horror fans like myself want is a movie that'll shock, thrill and delight an audience of like-minded people.

And this movie does that. This is easily the best movie I've seen in the genre this year, and deserves to be a success so that the director, Eli Roth, can continue to make other horror films that are as good as this one.

Miss this at your peril - a real cinematic thrill ride!!!

(10 out of 10)