Dark Signal (2016)

I found this movie on Netflix and eventually got around to watching it. It took a while because it didn’t have great reviews online but I was in the mood for something different, so this fit the bill. As an added bonus the lovely Mrs. Horror Dude was also interested in it! This counts as date night… right?

We have a pair of storylines that intersect. First is the final night of a small local radio station. After the evening’s broadcast they are going to be shut down and just rebroadcast the digital signal from the network. So, our lady D.J. and her engineer set up for one last spooky night all alone at the isolated broadcast center. Well they aren’t completely alone because they also have a guest psychic to predict their futures post show. When she starts they get an unexpected visit from the ghost of a woman who was murdered by a serial killer who has been terrorizing the local area.

The other storyline revolves around a single mother who along with her boyfriend goes off to rob the house of a rich football (soccer not real football!) player who refuses to pay his debts. Or at least that is what the boyfriend says. He goes off to burglarize the house leaving her alone in the car on a creepy country road. She has to deal with a scary farmer, a spooky figure in the woods, a ghost in the backseat, and a call from her boyfriend that makes it sound like he has been murdered! Of course, the car won’t start, and she ends up at the house looking for him. Not only is this where the ghost came from, but the serial killer is still there.

There is a lot more that happens, but I can’t say much more without spoiling things. I don’t want to give the impression that Dark Signal is a great movie, but it is solid and I did enjoy it. Both stories were interesting and connect together nicely in the final act. There is a bit of a leap in logic that might be a bit far-fetched. Then again, we have a ghost so how realistic should we expect the proceedings to be? Overall, I found the plot of the movie to be engaging and fun. I was guessing the up until the end as to who the killer may or may not be. By the way the idea of the serial killer being nicknamed Wedlock because he takes the ring finger of his victims was sort of cool. And horrifying in its execution.

Very simple makeup but it works!

This isn’t a gore fest but there are moments that had me cringe. Much of the violence is implied and off-screen. But we do get to see a couple rather unpleasant deaths involving bolt cutters, the preferred weapon of the Wedlock Killer. When the killer wants to make one of his victims immobile he takes a hammer and chisel to her knee… God that was awful. The actress does an amazing job of selling it and made my stomach turn. Along with a couple great jump scares, including one during the finale, there was a lot of fun to be had with Dark Signal.

To finish things up I recommend giving Dark Signal a watch. It isn’t the kind of movie that needs to be seen more than once, but that first watch should be filled with enough scares and mystery to make it worth your time.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer