31 Days of Halloween: The Signal (2007) will give you the crazy

For today’s entry in our 31 Days of Halloween, we’re taking you back to 2007’s most underrated psychological horror flick, The Signal.

There are many sub-genres for our beloved horror genre, and I’ll admit straight up that I’m a fan of them all. But if you ask me, psychological horror is by far the most horrifying. There’s something about the human mind breaking that freaks me out so much more than any kind of undead monster ever could.

That brings me to the three-part indie horror film The Signal, directed by David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry. Though the film follows the same characters through one overall story, each of the three directors take turns helming the first, second, and third acts of the film (respectively).

In The Signal, life as we all know it suddenly changes when a mysterious transmission starts coming though on all telecommunication and audiovisual devices. In other words, every cell phone, TV screen, and radio all suddenly start broadcasting this strange signal at once. As it turns out, being exposed to this signal for more than few seconds drives a person completely insane, turning them into murderous lunatics. It’s like zombies — only much more horrifying.

via Magnolia Pictures

“But I thought we were friends?”

Our story opens with Mya (Anessa Ramsey) and her apparent lover, Ben (Justin Welborn). Though Mya is married to her jealous husband Lewis (A. J. Bowen), her heart is with Ben, and the two discuss fleeing the city together. Ultimately, Mya leaves Ben for now to return home, keeping their encounter secret from Lewis.

On Mya’s way home is when the signal first breaks out. At her apartment, Lewis glares at the signal on the TV as Mya goes to take a shower. Moments later, Lewis is already so mad that he violently attacks his own buddies with a baseball bat. With Lewis off his rocker, he pursues Mya across the city, with a less-crazy Ben attempting to protect her.

By far, the second segment, “The Jealousy Monster”, is my personal favorite. It’s full of dark humor, which I love — for example, one schmuck seems completely oblivious to the carnage going on outside, focusing only on a party that’s supposed to happen that day. Yet, it also really gives me the willies. A. J. Bowen is FREAKY as the exterminator-gone-psycho Lewis. And the film always maintains that feeling of dread, as viewers don’t know if somebody has been infected with “the crazy”… or how much it has changed them.

If you’ve never seen The Signal (not to be confused with the 2014 film of the same name), I say check it out immediately. It’s a must watch for horror movie fans… especially those who love psychological horror. And Bowen’s Lewis just might horrify you more than Michael or Freddy ever did.

Next: 31 Days of Halloween: Halloween 4

Have you seen this freaky film? Have any of your own opinions to add? We would love to see them, so leave your thoughts in the comments section below.