‘Hear the fear.’
Dark Signal is a 2016 British horror film directed and edited by Ed Evers-Swindell (Infestation, 2005) from a screenplay co-written with Antony Jones. The movie stars Siwan Morris, Gareth David-Lloyd and Joanna Ignaczewska.
Plot:
Deep in the heart of the isolated Welsh valleys, an eerie hush spreads throughout the deserted wilds.
Stranded and terrified, single mother, Kate (Joanna Ignaczewska), finds herself entangled in an ill-thought-out plan: a midnight robbery about to take a dangerous turn. On lookout for her boyfriend, and left trembling in the middle of a secluded forest, she quickly realises she is not alone. With her is the vengeful spirit of a murdered girl…
Meanwhile, across the valley at a local radio station, Ben (Gareth David-Lloyd) and Laurie (Siwan Morris) are midway through their last ever radio show. With the arrival of medium, Carla, and filled with determination to go out with a bang, Laurie and Ben are about to get much more than they bargained for.
Patching together fragments of ghostly sounds, they begin to unravel the clues to a frightening crime before doing do the unthinkable… making contact with the dead.
Release:
Dark Signal was released on DVD in the UK on 30 May 2016 by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.
Buy: Amazon.co.uk
In the US, it is released in movie theaters on June 2, 2017 and on VOD and iTunes June 6th.
Reviews:
“Dark Signal is a rare Welsh-born horror that captures the essence of its location beautifully, giving you frights and a pick-n-mix bag of horror tropes thrown at the screen one after another – some working much better than others that can unfortunately detract from the overall experience.” Crash Landed
“The Welsh need to be making more horror movies if they maintain this standard. The use of the countryside evokes the isolation of the characters, the accents are unlike anything else on screen out there and the story hits enough points of originality. Too bad the shaky beginning lets it down a notch but overall, a very effective horror and recommended by us.” Flash Bang
“It probably overdoes the torture […] stuff (that’s so 2008) with one scene pitting a woman with a hammered knee she’s splinted herself against a baddie with a spear-wound in his shoulder and the antagonists both going for the open wounds with teeth or thumbs – but it still works, even if the killer is more interesting with the bag off and chatting. The ghost (Eleanor Gecks, from Young Dracula) is a Japanese style vengeance seeker, but helps out in the finale.” The Kim Newman Web Site
” …it hits or at least attempts to hit the spot more often than it doesn’t, thanks to sprightly direction and a game cast. But its aspirations are somewhat hampered by a sluggish and often unfocused script, a batch of tough-to-root-for characters and, fatally, its delivery of a bogeyman who appears to have no motivation for his boorish behaviour…” Starburst magazine
” …it stumbles along the way and at times feels more reserved than it should be but it’s slow pace provides the perfect foundation for a sense discomfort to grow. The strong performances elevates the film and it is through the careful nurture by Evers-Swindell that Dark Signal gets a much needed boost.” Scream magazine
“The primary cause of the movie’s failure is in the way it tries to force together two sub-genres; the serial killer with a ghost story, in a completely haphazard and disjointed manner. It almost feels like the writer was trying to pay homage to some of his favourite films, but couldn’t quite figure out how to do it properly.” The Gingernuts of Horror
“Dark Signal is a beautifully shot, well acted film, but the flimsy script, lack of character development and unimaginative killer and supernatural elements let it down massively. By all means give it a watch if you’re a fan if British horror, but prepare to be more frustrated, than scared!” UK Horror Scene
“The slasher element is rather tame despite its tongue snipping and knee breaking and the supernatural theme is pretty much ghostly jump scares and voices through the radio transmitter with a touch of possession thrown in for good measure. It all feels too cobbled together that none of it works as separate ideas, nevermind as a whole.” Horror Cult Films
“Entertaining, engaging and far more interesting than it first appears Dark Signal is a great British horror export and well worth a watch…” Love Horror
Main cast:
- Siwan Morris
- Gareth David-Lloyd – Doctor Who
- Joanna Ignaczewska
- Duncan Pow
- Cinzia Monreale – The Stendhal Syndrome; The Beyond; Beyond the Darkness
- Eleanor Gecks
- James Cosmo – A Hole in the Ground; Malevolent; Estranged; Citadel; Hammer House of Horror TV series; The Stone Tape; Doomwatch; Assault
- Sioned Jones
- Amelie Leroy
- Kai Coleman
- Jennifer Moylan-Taylor
- Malcolm Raeburn
- Douglas Durdle
- Genna Loskutnikov
- Luing Andrews
Filming locations:
Llandudno, Conwy, Wales
Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales (farm house)
Snowdonia National Park, Snowdonia, Gwynedd, Wales
