Go See It

...if you can tolerate gore, that is. A rare weekday off found us at the Landmark Theatre for the 4:35 screening of
The Signal. I truly hate most slasher films- they seem depraved for the sake of depravity and nothing more- but if it's at the Landmark it can't be all bad. The Signal is a simply brilliant film, a lean, character driven story centered around the chaos that ensues when the people in the city of Terminus receive a transmission from TV, radio, and cell phones that turns otherwise ordinary folk into killers. Sound formulaic? Maybe not the newest plot outline in the box, but the handling of the story by its three young directors is truly remarkable. The film ends up feeling extremely socially relevant, and is highly entertaining besides (again, if you can stand the gore). In between covering my mouth with my hand in complete shock at a myriad of unbelievable scenes, I was wondering, "Why Terminus- isn't that the old name for Atlanta?" Towards the end of the film our heroes enter a train station, which is actually the Georgia World Congress Center. This really surprised me because nothing else about the film suggested Atlanta, but the blurry "Sidney J. Marcus" sign, skinny escalators, and red carpet were unmistakably GWCC. So then I knew, this was filmed in Atlanta and it's no coincidence the place is called Terminus. Even more surprising, when the credits rolled I recognized one of the directors as a guy I went to high school with! Of course I had to dig for extra info via Google, where I found details about how The Signal was shot in 13 days by a team of local artists who absolutely believed in their story and found a way to get it done and into national release. Downright inspiring. I love movies, and I make it a point to study how they're filmed and how they 'hook' the audience, creating an experience. The experience and the story the best movies create is the very same reason I take pictures- to create an experience for my clients, my family, my self. The Signal may not be a film for everyone, but if you're a little brave and a lot open-minded, or if you want a few brownie points with someone you love who loves horror movies, give it a chance.