Waiter, I'd like to order a good zombie flick please... but hold the zombies.
Surprisingly, "The Signal" was shot over the course of just thirteen days and the rumor floating around is that it was produced entirely on a budget of only $50,000. Most of the cast and crew are friends of the filmmakers who worked on the project for free. Now I couldn't actually confirm the monetary fact myself, but if true, it's a very formidable feat. It doesn't seem cheap at all, especially since the movie completely outshines many other thrillers that have budgets in the millions.
Video:
The Blu-ray version of "The Signal" utilizes the MPEG-4 AVC codec and is presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The picture is grítty, a tad murky at times, and there's a fair amount of graininess in the poorly lit scenes. The rough, washed-out look was an artistic intent according to the directors, but I don't doubt that the tight budget also played a significant part in the video quality. I also noticed what looks like a hot pixel in the lower left quadrant of the screen. It's first visible during the early scene with Mya at Ben's home (which happened to be the last one filmed), disappeared after that for a while, and then it reappeared again about midway through the movie. It's faintly noticeable on the standard DVD as well, though not as pronounced as it is on the Blu-ray.
Audio:
While the video quality is pretty close to the standard DVD release, audiophiles may find it worth upgrading to the Blu-ray for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track. It blends the music and dialogue with the other sounds well, although I still wouldn't say it blew me away like some releases have in the past. That said, I didn't find anything unclear or out of place, and the subwoofer rumbles during the periodic signal cameos for a more menacing effect. There's also a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, plus viewers can choose optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Extras:
The Blu-ray contains the same bonus material as the standard DVD. Starting things off is a Directors Commentary with David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry. I found this commentary to be a lot more enjoyable than some of the other commentaries I've sat through, since the three filmmakers were at ease and just having a ball with the whole thing. Each director was also kicked out of the room during his segment so the other two could comment on his section just to make it unique.
The disc also includes a handful of deleted scenes. The first features an Intro by Dan Bush (2:12), and contains two clips: Bike Scene Version 1 (1:11) and Bike Scene Version 2 (0:44). The other one has an Intro (0:31) by David Bruckner for the Extended Bat Scene (1:42).
Signal Breakdown (4:26) is a short featurette explaining the basic premise of the film and studies the three acts. Inside Terminus: The Making of The Signal (15:04) is one of the better behind-the-scenes documentaries I've seen. A large part of this featurette takes a look at some of the stunt tricks and techniques used in the movie, and we get to see exactly how they created some of the fantastic looking effects like the car crash sequence and the beheading scene on a shoestring budget.
There are three webisodes that widen the effects of the transmitting signal to other places around Terminus. Transmission Intro (0:58) briefly explains the significance of three additional transmissions. Transmission 14: Technical Difficulties (3:27) is written and directed by David Bruckner and takes place at a studio for a TV station, Transmission 23: The Return (4:27) uses an electronics store as the setting by Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry presents Transmission 37: Crosstown Traffic (3:42) about a family traveling on a road trip.
The Hap Hapgood Story (10:02) is the horror film seen in the opening sequence of "The Signal" included here in its entirety. In the Intro (3:08), Jacob Gentry provides some background on the film which was the winning entry from the 2003 48-Hour Film Festival. Basically, the festival is a contest where filmmakers are only given forty-eight hours to write, direct, produce, and film a short movie.
Just in case some viewers like to freak out their friends, there's even an option to click on The Signal to broadcast the mysterious signal on their own televisions.
Finally, there are four trailers in high-definition: "The Life Before Her Eyes," "The Host," "District B13," and "HDNet."
The Final Cut:
Waiter, I'd like to order a good zombie flick please... but hold the zombies. While "The Signal" doesn't contain the usual ravenous undead or contagious strains of unknown viruses, it fits right in with the likes of "Night of the Living Dead" and "Resident Evil." However, the catalyst for the plot is just a simple sound emitted from our own technology that transforms humanity into raving monsters. In that vein, the film is closer to the realm of possibility, making it that much more terrifying and just as mesmerizing as the signal itself.
Video:
The Blu-ray version of "The Signal" utilizes the MPEG-4 AVC codec and is presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The picture is grítty, a tad murky at times, and there's a fair amount of graininess in the poorly lit scenes. The rough, washed-out look was an artistic intent according to the directors, but I don't doubt that the tight budget also played a significant part in the video quality. I also noticed what looks like a hot pixel in the lower left quadrant of the screen. It's first visible during the early scene with Mya at Ben's home (which happened to be the last one filmed), disappeared after that for a while, and then it reappeared again about midway through the movie. It's faintly noticeable on the standard DVD as well, though not as pronounced as it is on the Blu-ray.
Audio:
While the video quality is pretty close to the standard DVD release, audiophiles may find it worth upgrading to the Blu-ray for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track. It blends the music and dialogue with the other sounds well, although I still wouldn't say it blew me away like some releases have in the past. That said, I didn't find anything unclear or out of place, and the subwoofer rumbles during the periodic signal cameos for a more menacing effect. There's also a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, plus viewers can choose optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Extras:
The Blu-ray contains the same bonus material as the standard DVD. Starting things off is a Directors Commentary with David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry. I found this commentary to be a lot more enjoyable than some of the other commentaries I've sat through, since the three filmmakers were at ease and just having a ball with the whole thing. Each director was also kicked out of the room during his segment so the other two could comment on his section just to make it unique.
The disc also includes a handful of deleted scenes. The first features an Intro by Dan Bush (2:12), and contains two clips: Bike Scene Version 1 (1:11) and Bike Scene Version 2 (0:44). The other one has an Intro (0:31) by David Bruckner for the Extended Bat Scene (1:42).
Signal Breakdown (4:26) is a short featurette explaining the basic premise of the film and studies the three acts. Inside Terminus: The Making of The Signal (15:04) is one of the better behind-the-scenes documentaries I've seen. A large part of this featurette takes a look at some of the stunt tricks and techniques used in the movie, and we get to see exactly how they created some of the fantastic looking effects like the car crash sequence and the beheading scene on a shoestring budget.
There are three webisodes that widen the effects of the transmitting signal to other places around Terminus. Transmission Intro (0:58) briefly explains the significance of three additional transmissions. Transmission 14: Technical Difficulties (3:27) is written and directed by David Bruckner and takes place at a studio for a TV station, Transmission 23: The Return (4:27) uses an electronics store as the setting by Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry presents Transmission 37: Crosstown Traffic (3:42) about a family traveling on a road trip.
The Hap Hapgood Story (10:02) is the horror film seen in the opening sequence of "The Signal" included here in its entirety. In the Intro (3:08), Jacob Gentry provides some background on the film which was the winning entry from the 2003 48-Hour Film Festival. Basically, the festival is a contest where filmmakers are only given forty-eight hours to write, direct, produce, and film a short movie.
Just in case some viewers like to freak out their friends, there's even an option to click on The Signal to broadcast the mysterious signal on their own televisions.
Finally, there are four trailers in high-definition: "The Life Before Her Eyes," "The Host," "District B13," and "HDNet."
The Final Cut:
Waiter, I'd like to order a good zombie flick please... but hold the zombies. While "The Signal" doesn't contain the usual ravenous undead or contagious strains of unknown viruses, it fits right in with the likes of "Night of the Living Dead" and "Resident Evil." However, the catalyst for the plot is just a simple sound emitted from our own technology that transforms humanity into raving monsters. In that vein, the film is closer to the realm of possibility, making it that much more terrifying and just as mesmerizing as the signal itself.
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[release]23515[/release]