DARK SIGNAL (2016)

Studio:       XLrator Media
Director:    Edward Evers-Swindell
Writer:       Antony Jones, Edward Evers-Swindell
Producer:  Jonas Babics
Stars:     Siwan Morris, Gareth David-Lloyd, Joanna Ignaczewska, Duncan Pow, Eleanor Gecks, Cinzia Monreale, James Cosmo

Review Score:

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Summary:

The paths of a serial killer, a psychic, a vengeful ghost, and two thieves collide during a jaded radio DJ’s final broadcast.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Radio DJ Laurie Wolf wakes from a nightmare in which the Wedlock Killer, a murderer on the loose who removes his victims’ ring fingers, kills Sarah Keller, although Laurie does not know who the murdered woman is. Radio JAB engineer Ben calls Laurie with a reminder to be on time for her final broadcast.

Ben also calls former flame Kate Komisarczyk with an invitation regarding his station’s show. Desperate for cash to care for her invalid son Marek, Kate reluctantly agrees to be the lookout and getaway driver for her current boyfriend Nick Keller, who has a plot to rob a man of $40,000 he is supposedly owed. Kate leaves Marek with caregiver Janet Jones for the evening.

Ben welcomes noted psychic Carla Zaza to the station to be a guest on Laurie’s show. Despondent over not having a new job lined up yet, and sloughing off her final broadcast, Laurie treats Carla with open disdain and skepticism.

While Nick goes off in the dark to rob a remote farmhouse, Kate waits in her car. Alan Keller confronts Kate when he finds her vehicle on his property. Kate lies to redirect Alan while realizing Nick hid something from her regarding his plan.

Carla tries communicating with a spirit while on Laurie’s program. Meanwhile, Kate is haunted by a ghost girl once Alan leaves her alone.

Later, Ben and Carla play back the previous segment’s tape and hear a voice in the static. They play the tape for Laurie, who recognizes the voice as the same one from her nightmare.

Nick calls Kate on her cellphone. Kate hears Nick being stabbed suddenly on the other end. When the ghost girl reappears, Kate flees on foot to the farmhouse. Kate finds a dead woman in the house’s basement before being knocked unconscious.

Carla returns to Laurie’s show and contacts the spirit of Sarah Keller while on the air. Sarah’s spirit reveals that the Wedlock Killer murdered her before contact is suddenly cut.

Back at Kate’s house, the ghost girl comes out of Marek’s closet and possesses the boy. In Sarah’s voice, Marek says to Janet, “tell them who killed me.” Janet calls Kate’s phone before putting the boy in her car and heading to the radio station.

Alan Keller wakes Kate. The elderly farmer accuses Kate of being the person who murdered his beloved daughter Sarah. Alan beats and cuts Kate. Wearing a mask, the Wedlock Killer suddenly appears and murders Alan. The Wedlock Killer speaks cryptically, wounds Kate, and leaves Kate to die.

Kate resets her broken leg and hobbles outside, where she finds Nick fatally wounded. Nick confesses that he was robbing his father because his sister Sarah received all of the family money and he wanted a cut. Before dying, Nick gives Kate the money he stole and tells Kate to use it to start a new life with Marek.

The Wedlock Killer murders Carla while she smokes a cigarette outside the radio station. The Wedlock Killer then uses bolt cutters to clip out Carla’s tongue.

Janet arrives at the station with Marek. Thinking she may be able to get help from Ben, Kate arrives at the station a short time later. Kate realizes Marek is there when she finds his stuffed bear on a hallway floor.

Kate finds Ben alone in an empty studio. Ben reveals that Laurie’s final show was recorded the previous evening. Kate and everyone else had been listening to a delayed broadcast. Kate realizes that Ben is the Wedlock Killer.

Back in the previous night, Laurie discovers a tin full of fingers in the studio, which reveals that Ben is the Wedlock Killer. Ben tells Laurie he was also the person who attacked her years earlier for a crime her boyfriend went to prison over. Ben kills Laurie.

In the present, Kate asks Ben who Sarah was. Ben admits he met Sarah on the internet, just as he did Kate, before killing Sarah like many of his other victims.

Kate stabs Ben and runs away to search for her son. Sarah’s voice leads Kate to Marek, but Kate realizes she needs a tool to cut the boy’s restraints. Kate finds Janet’s dead body before running out to her car, where Ben captures her.

In the light of day, Kate wakes in her car to find Ben dousing it with gasoline. Kate gets free and engages in a brutal physical fight with Ben.

Just as Ben is about to deliver the killing blow, Sarah’s ghost manifests and frightens Ben into dumping gasoline on himself. Kate uses a lighter to ignite the petrol. Ben explodes along with the car, although Nick’s stolen money also burns up in the flames. Kate sees Sarah’s ghost as she walks back to the radio station to rescue Marek.

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Review:

“Dark Signal” exemplifies what it means to say that a movie comes together “clunkily.”  Technically, “clunkily” isn’t a word, so perhaps “clumsily” should be used instead.

The story spins three separate threads straight away, and continues fraying ends into additional subplots from there.  For somewhere in the neighborhood of half of the 95-minute runtime, it isn’t even clear if, let alone how, the different plotlines will ultimately come together.

It can be a frustrating experience of not knowing exactly what type of movie you are already in the middle of.  It’s a bit like watching an anthology featuring a serial killer, a crime caper, and a supernatural whodunit involving a vengeful ghost, except all of the shorts are playing at the same time.

In the background of “Dark Signal” lurks The Wedlock Killer, a serial murderer so named because he snips the ring fingers off each victim using a pair of bolt cutters.  File that tidbit away for now.  Aside from a nightmare involving the killer that opens the movie, he doesn’t play a foreground role until later on.

Actually occupying the foreground is Laurie Wolf, a radio DJ reluctantly gearing up for her final broadcast.  Laurie’s edgy attitude is already soured about unemployment.  Her snarky spirit continues soaring sky high when engineer Ben springs supposed psychic Carla Zaza on Laurie as her final on air guest.

Elsewhere, Kate Komisarczyk is preparing for a job she doesn’t want to do either.  Desperate for cash to care for her crippled son, Kate agrees to be her shady boyfriend Nick’s getaway driver for a home robbery heist.  Nick says they are merely taking what he is rightfully owed from an unidentified man.  However, Nick is keeping a secret from Kate poised to set her up for an unexpected encounter.

Meanwhile, Laurie’s audio engineer Ben phones Kate, a former flame who quietly shares his romantic interest, with an invite to give Laurie’s last show a listen.  Ben isn’t the only connection the women share.  While Carla contacts a supernatural spirit live on Laurie’s program, Kate finds herself encountering a ghost girl of her own.  Now we just have to get back to the matter of uncovering exactly how the digit-snipping serial killer fits into these two seemingly separate pictures.

“Dark Signal” doesn’t keep its multiple plates spinning so much as wobbling while become chipped at the edges.  Yet “Dark Signal” happens to be the best kind of strangely structured movie because it is so scattershot, it becomes fascinating to watch unfold.  The film follows a bumpy path for sure.  But at least it’s an oddly enjoyable ride.

A melting pot cast provides a big bite of that bizarreness.  Siwan Morris (Laurie) seems to have fun with a charismatically caustic characterization, setting her style up as somewhat of a Welsh Constance Zimmer.  Joanna Ignaczewska’s (Kate) Polish accent steps her performance out on the wrong foot of sounding like bad acting, though she gradually warms up to her role.

“Dark Signal’s” biggest “get” however, at least for Italian horror film fans, is the inclusion of Cinzia Monreale as psychic Carla.  Monreale is well known for playing the blind woman in Lucio Fulci’s incredible classic “The Beyond,” where she acted under the name Sarah Keller.  “Dark Signal” even names its ghost Sarah Keller as further tribute to Monreale.  Director and co-writer Edward Evers-Swindell is obviously a Fulci fan, and his winks at that fact are good for a great deal of street cred.

Unusual is an understatement with regard to “Dark Signal.”  The film devolves into some silliness late in the game, such as when the killer tunelessly whistles while setting up his grand finale.  This comes after his identity is outed, so he decides he has nothing to lose by becoming a chatterbox about it too, verbally putting pieces together in the event viewers haven’t already filled in remaining blanks for themselves.

In spite of such forced-feeling scenes, Evers-Swindell’s commitment to going for broke by stirring up so many subgenres in a single story is admirable, even if it isn’t always effective.  Keep expectations steady and “Dark Signal” emerges as a surprisingly entertaining supernatural mystery combined with serial killer thriller.  Fine-tuned the film isn’t, though it certainly can be weirdly fun.

Review Score:  65

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