Ok, truthfully I don't really know of a horror movie most grandmothers enjoy, but the one sitting next to me at the advanced screening I attended tonight could only make it through half of Transmission II. Sorry grandma, at least you didn't have to ask for your money back. The Signal is filled with gruesome bloody violence, and I share her sentiment in deciding to bail at the point that she did, though, having stuck with it to the end I believe the filmmakers pulled off the mayhem well enough for those with the stomach to take it.
The Signal is written, directed, shot, and edited by three filmmakers. Each take an equal timed Act in the film aptly titled the 'Transmission.' Each Transmission is seen through the eyes of a different main character. Transmission I sets up the story and the characters of Mya and Ben in the city of Terminus, the end of the line. An eerie visual and audio transmission has replaced tv and cell phone signals. As we follow Mya, it becomes increasingly apparent this disturbance is more vexing and pervasive, until murder and chaos erupt. In Transmission II Mya's husband, Lewis, is searching for his missing wife and will let no one 'sane' or 'crazy' get in his way from finding her. In Transmission III, Ben is trying to find Mya and get out of Terminus before the signal reaches her.
Where The Signal is strong is in its concept. Moral questions are raised such as "Am I justified to kill someone who I know isn't in their right mind but may be trying to kill me?" This leads the audience to question who has the 'crazy' and who doesn't, upping the suspense not seen as much in gore filled kill 'em all horror. Unfortunately, the film takes a turn for the worse in Transmission II, where the frantic suspense is mostly replaced by dark humor. I won't go so far as to say the second Act completely derails the film, as some may enjoy the tangent, but to stall the film in one location and not move the plot along an inch makes me ponder why the second director was satisfied to direct a Martin McDonagh play rather than a horror film for his part. Suspense is nearly all lost and replaced with beating the audience with the question of who is 'sane' and who is 'crazy' how do we know what is being shown to us is really happening? Thankfully the acting saved it for me, but not grandma, yet as well as the actors are playing their characters I can't help but ask why I am being given so much of them without it going somewhere.
So, Transmission III could easily pick up right where Transmission I left off, and it certainly does in pacing and tone. The story is back and the race to a finale is on. The conflicts being put in front of Ben work in a similar fashion as they did for Mya in Act I. Sadly, the stonewall of the middle doesn't have me pulling for him quite as much as I was for Mya from the start. The stakes were just never really raised any more to satisfy me in the end. It may sound like I am saying the filmmakers don't pull off what I felt was a strong concept, but I do want to give them credit where it is due. The story I liked except for most of the middle; the script was good and helps keep the middle afloat; the acting was solid; the directing and camera work was well done; and the editing was easily its strong suit. I think a lot of horror fans will enjoy The Signal and I recommend it for those who 'have the crazy.'
3/5
~CLU