The Signal (William Eubank, 2014): USA

Reviewed by Logan Kovarick. Viewed at Antioch University part of SBIFF 2015.

The Signal is one of the most under rated science fiction films I’ve seen in a while. The low budget film, distributed by Universal, feels up to par with any other untamed popcorn flick you’d see in the theaters.

The films cast consists of break out stars like Brenton Thwaits (The Giver, Maleficent, and the new Pirates of the Caribbean), Beau Knapp (just look at his upcoming projects on IMDB, this kid is fully booked) and is directed by first timer William Eubank. The Signal is about a trio of friends from MIT who whilst traveling to California, come across a mysterious signal that they have immense interest in. They make a side trip to find the center of where it is coming from, and from there, the film takes off on a reality bending adventure. Laurence Fishburn plays Damon, the man who runs the facility they trio ends up. How they got there, why they are there, and how they escape, fills up the second and third act beautifully. The ending will have you on the edge of your seat wanting more from this fresh, creative, and young talent.

What I loved most about this film, was the depth of relationship between the three main characters. It is established in a such a short amount of time but shows the audience the comradere that feels so real. It is so hard to do and it seemed so seamless in the writing and on screen that, in turn, you’re immersed in this insane journey with these three characters. You feel the loss, you feel the love, and you feel the motivation. Caring about the characters is everything to an audience. Once you have them hooked, you can do whatever you want within the parameters of your created world. Eubank does that so effectively that most other science fiction pictures do not. In a question and answer seminar with the director, he talked about creativity amongst limitations. This film was made for only four million dollars, an extremely low budget comparatively speaking, and had a lot of special effects. They look just as real as any other film and most importantly are a compliment to this simple but rich story instead of diluting it like a Transformers, Avatar, or Interstellar.

I appluad William Eubank for making not only an amazing film with the limitations he had, but his execution with the depth of motivation, character, and story throughout. Mark my words that you’ll see his name with some of the best and brightest in Hollywood. A true talent and a well worth seeing film.