The Signal, They're Here...Whoever They Are

Yep...they're here, all right. No question about that. The big question is 'who?' Sure, all you schmucks from rural Utah, remote sections of Siberia, and Morristown, New Jersey won't find anything new about today's film, 2014's "The Signal." You folks are awaiting their next arrival...whoever 'they' are. For the rest of us, perhaps today's feature is a lesson that curiosity may have been integral in inventing the atomic bomb, but for the most part, asking questions can be more perilous than checking a fuse-box in a slasher film.

As our film begins we meet a very likable trio on a quest for answers and perhaps some revenge. Nic (Brenton Thwaites) is an M.I.T. student who walks with crutches. Haley (Olivia Cook) is his very cute main squeeze who adores him no matter what his handicap. Then there is Jonah (Beau Knapp), another M.I.T. computer genius. The trio are heading cross country following clues and signals in order to hunt the hacker that almost got them expelled from M.I.T. This hacker took down many of the university's servers and Nic and Jonah were blamed. Uh oh...indications suggest this hacker is luring them into a trap. This hacker displays that he can watch the trio even when they are in their hotel room or in traffic.

So what do Jonah and Nic plan to do when they find him? Perhaps they should have come up with a plan for this because when they reach the Nevada desert...someone (...or something) finds them. A flash of light, total confusion and Haley being sucked up into the sky...and all of a sudden the quest for revenge becomes the quest for more answers and survival. Enter Damon (Laurence Fishburne), a weird scientist in a HAZMAT suit. He is studying Nic in some underground laboratory manned by others in containment suits. Where are Haley and Jonah? You'll see...eventually. Underground lab? What is topside?

As Nic slowly gets his bearings back he realizes that he is changed. Has Damon and his crew saved Nic from some Alien invasion or other apocalypse? Or is Nic Damon's captive? Is Nic being nursed back to health or probed and experimented on? What of this hacker? Trust no one! This film which appears on Netflix is ambitious and answers all the questions posed above...and leaves you with bigger ones. For fans of science fiction and...well, no spoilers, this is one that will keep you guessing. Directed by William Eubank, "The Signal" will serve as a pleasant reminder for you to stop asking so many questions.