The Signal
A mysterious broadcast fractures an already anxious society into paranoia, violence, and competing versions of reality.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- unsettling
- visceral
- sardonic
- late night horror viewing
- cult movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film gruesome, inventive, funny, and thematically ambitious, while noting that its three episodes and tonal shifts do not fully cohere.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The mysterious signal travels through cell phones, radios, and televisions, transforming ordinary media into an engine of violence.
The film is explicitly divided into three parts told from three perspectives, with each section shifting emphasis and tone.
Critics repeatedly identify the mixture of gruesome horror, comedy, and big social ideas as central to the film's identity.
The signal invades television and radio while the story connects fear, paranoia, hate, and violence to mediated social control.
Films like The Signal, and why
Pontypool
shared psychological horror, societal paranoia, and infection-like breakdown of ordinary reality
Shaun of the Dead
shared splatter horror, dark comedy, and escalating social madness
Re-Animator
shared low-budget visceral horror, body transformation, and grimly comic experimentation
The Crazies
shared transmission-driven paranoia, social collapse, and psychological terror
Movie Details
- Directors
- Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry, David Bruckner
- Release Date
- 2007-07-13
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (350)
Cast
- Anessa Ramsey
- Justin Welborn
- AJ Bowen
- Scott Poythress
- Sahr Ngaujah
- Lindsey Garrett
- Chad McKnight
- Christopher Thomas
- Matthew Stanton
- Suehyla El-Attar Young
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Signal about?
- A mysterious broadcast fractures an already anxious society into paranoia, violence, and competing versions of reality.
- What is The Signal like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Signal as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Signal violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Signal as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Signal?
- Critics broadly found the film gruesome, inventive, funny, and thematically ambitious, while noting that its three episodes and tonal shifts do not fully cohere.
- Which films are like The Signal?
- Films with a similar feel include Pontypool, Shaun of the Dead, Re-Animator, and The Crazies.
- How long is The Signal?
- The Signal runs 103 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Signal?
- In United States, The Signal streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel.
