Dark Signal

Enjoyed this British horror, doesn't have the big bucks of a Hollywood horror or production gloss but shows what a good storyline, believable characters and great acting can do. Liked the sound score as well, gets the thumbs-up and definitely worth watching.

This movie frustrated me. The footage was really well done, very effective use of dark shadowing and an overall creepy, atmospheric gothic vibe. Had some genuinely scary section reminiscent of The Ring.

I thought the directing and editing was really well done.

But 'oh man' the acting was pretty bad, nearly everything was overacted. To be fair, it was mostly the lead female roles. When the lead blonde actress wasnt speaking, or crying, it was okay. When she was silent, she was okay. I just felt that this could have been a horror classic with better acting.

The twist was good, i didnt predict it, that helps.

Overall I loved the plot too.

It's rare I say this, because most most modern remakes arent wonderful. But PLEASE redo this with different actors.

I was looking forward to watching this new horror film set in beautiful Snowdonia, but my anticipation soon turned to amazement as the opening scene came to a conclusion.

It wasn't amazement at the wonder of the acting and production - more amazement about how this got distribution and didn't end up going straight to DVD or whatever happens to low quality films nowadays.

Apart from a couple of exceptions the acting is awful, right from the supporting actors leaving messages on a telephone answering machine through to one of the main female characters played by Joanna Ignaczewska.

Whoever cast her must have forgotten to do a screen test with the script, because she is not suited to this film whatsoever - even though she seems to have quite a long list of film parts behind her.

The only two worthwhile performances are given by James Cosmo and Gareth David-Lloyd. Without either this production would fall further into the abyss of 'films that could have been good'.

There are numerous mistakes and continuity errors in the film for which there is no excuse, and I get the feeling the film was cobbled together to a formula rather than being a developing artistic endeavour.

The film is disjointed and it is hard to get a feeling of substance.

It is set in Snowdoina, with the rest of the characters having no real connection to the location whatsoever. Polish female lead, Scottish farmer role, and an Italian actress, and various others who must have been handily hanging around on casting day.

If you are thinking of paying money to see this either at the cinema, online, or on DVD you would be better off waiting until it ends up in the bargain bin - which it is bound to do sooner than later.

Was drawn into seeing 'Dark Signal', with as said for many films seen an intriguing and reasonably creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Dark Signal', simply put, turned out to be a disappointing film and waste of potential with a few fairly small positives and so much done catastrophically wrong. Not one of the worst films ever seen, not even close, but 'Dark Signal' is a classic example of how not to do a premise deserving of a film that does it justice.

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and the music fits nicely and has eeriness.

A few decent twists and there is a passion for horror at times though it only comes in spurts when too much of the film is undone by the mediocre at best and often bad execution of everything else.

However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrate. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The acting is pretty bad to put it lightly, particularly from agreed Joanna Ignaczewska spending the entire time looking unsure and bored, and the effects are ropy at best.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, not to mention far too exposition-heavy, while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the first half, which goes on forever and fails to get going, and never is it exciting after a truly irrelevant beginning. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. Too many elements are introduced, and then dropped, barely explored or don't go anywhere, sometimes even all three.

A lot of the film completely fails to make sense, both in underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations. There is a lot of choppiness and lack of coherence. The threat is poorly used and poses very little threat. The film completely peters out with an ending that felt like an afterthought.

All in all, very mediocre at best. 4/10 Bethany Cox

This is a fairly forgettable film. It has some interesting ideas, but mostly fails. Some of the camera-work is good, and the lead actresses are good, but the director seems to think that sticking in a jump shock every few minutes constitutes good horror filmmaking. To make matters worth, each of these shocks is punctuated by a loud musical screech. In the hands of a talented director, these types of shocks can be very effective, but here they are just annoying and actually interfere with the flow of the story.