When you notice something out of the ordinary, do you follow it's lead, or leave it in the past?
Harry Shum Jr. as James / Picture Credit: Strike Media
The synopsis
Broadcast Signal Intrusion follows James (Harry Shum Jr.), a video archivist in the 1990s, who, while at work, discovers a series of deeply sinister pirate broadcasts.
James then becomes obsessed with the tapes, and even more so about finding the one that made the signals.
He spends almost every minute of every day watching the tapes, sacrificing his job and well-being to find answers; but is this a dead end, or will James unearth the one behind the intrusions?
So, what did I think?
After watching the trailer for Broadcast Signal Intrusion, I was deeply interested in watching the film itself, and after seeing it, I was both impressed and intrigued.
There are so many stories that follow a creepy narrative, but this film had something unique about it.
The first thing that gripped me, was the music. Ben Lovett was in charge of things, and he did an incredible job; it was unnerving at the best of times, and worked well to elevate the movie to another level.
Some horror-type films don’t use music at all to increase fear, and other films utilise sound to the fullest to highlight certain scenes.
Lovett crafted what felt like sporadic pieces that worked well to showcase the film’s identity, which was a detective story of sorts with a decent amount of horror.
The music was what drew me in at first, but then I was introduced to James, who was a great main character. He had that ‘every day Joe’ vibe, but as the movie progressed, he became more interesting due to his determination within his personal investigation into the signal intrusions.
That was another thing that gripped me; the intrusions themselves were very, very sinister. Every intrusion, which would disrupt a TV show or film, showed what seemed to be a woman in a very creepy mask.
This was what drew me into the film even more, as alongside James, I as an audience member felt compelled to try and figure out what the intrusions meant, and why someone would plant them.
I always appreciate when films create something that is only part of that cinematic world, for example the show Red Dwarf had a series called ‘Androids’, and Broadcast Signal Intrusion created a show called ‘Stepbot’.
This, to me, showed genuinely clever thinking and a dedication to the feature itself. This may be a somewhat small detail, but it added to the film’s authenticity and grounded it just that little bit more.
Broadcast Signal Intrusion also led me straight to the point, which I appreciated, as I wasn’t sat watching nothing happen until the real horrors began.
However, I felt like since the movie showed its true colours early, which I loved and am not criticising, this meant that later down the line, there were a couple long stretches where not much would occur.
I understand that this time was used for a lot of dialogue to take place, but it was a small shame, as there was a time where the film went from deeply interesting to dull, but only by a small degree.
In regard to the acting, I thought it was great. Shum Jr. was a brilliant choice to play James, and in addition to a well-written script, it was easy to see the character's decent into obsession and madness throughout the film, which I loved.
It was also clear to see the themes of revenge and vengeance, specifically with James, as he begins to see that the intrusions, and stories of missing women, may have something to do with his late wife...
The movie also showcased a clear understanding of horror, character development, how to make simple shots interesting, as well as utilising light and space to the fullest.
Broadcast Signal Intrusion is a clever, intriguing and rather unnerving movie that gripped me from the start and rarely let go. It had some great shots, well-crafted dialogue, and a brilliant main character.
You can watch the movie in UK cinemas on March 25th, 2022, and on Digital Download and Blu-ray from March 28th, 2022.
Watch the trailer for Broadcast Signal Intrusion below:
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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