One of the great existential questions for modern man is whether we are alone, and given the sheer expanse of the universe surrounding us, the answer cannot possibly be no – there’s simply too much out there for us to be the only ones. It’s a statistical probability bordering on impossible. Cinema has long mined that question, from the hopeful, like E.T., to the nightmarish, like John Carpenter’s The Thing. But the less‑travelled branch of that inquiry is the kind of science fiction that steps away from fantasy and moves closer to science fact. Closer, but not too close – no one wants a movie that’s lab‑coat realism. This mode has been surfacing more often in recent years, the latest example being Canadian director Jonathan Sobol’s Signal One, out now on Signature Entertainment DVD.
To be cruel, Signal One is the “the Contact (1997) we have at home” to borrow the meme, though comparing a studio‑backed blockbuster to a one‑location indie sci‑fi drama is critically unfair. Events begin with Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid), a tech billionaire delivering a TED‑talk‑style address to a captive audience. Quaid plays him as an Elon‑Musk type who is, for once, actually as intelligent as his sycophants insist. His intentions are unclear, but he ends up headhunting Annika (Isabelle Fuhrman), a brilliant computer scientist whose achievements impress him. He wants her to work at a classified lab in the global south. She agrees, and is whisked away alongside whimsical engineer Charlie (Josh Hutcherson). Once there, they meet Perry (David Thewlis), a generational genius with a void where his social graces should be, working on a low‑key project attempting to communicate with whatever may be listening beyond Earth’s reach.
From here, the movie settles into mathematical theorising and engineering speculation that I’m not educated enough to judge as accurate or bunkum – which is exactly the right pitch for this kind of fact‑leaning science fiction. The engineering and the character detail remain fleet‑footed enough that everyone functions closer to character than cipher, even if the chamber‑piece structure keeps them boxed in.
“It’s most likely bunkum, but at least it’s visually pleasing, which is half the battle when you’re dealing with hard science‑fiction ideas.”
Click the Poster at the bottom of the review to buy Signal One on DVD, and to support the Geek Show. It is also available on VOD
Even if the characters aren’t ciphers, they all carry a certain crudeness as part of Signal One’s puzzle. Annika is the thoughtful voice of reason; Charlie is the idealistic dreamer; Perry is the older, (justifiably) dysfunctional presence without a single redeeming feature. All three actors perform their roles – and the turns they take – admirably. They each represent a different stance on the question of life beyond Earth: Annika the cynic, Charlie the full‑blown believer (a more emotionally present version of the ancient‑astronaut‑theorist crowd), and Perry the man who simply doesn’t care, operating with a psychopathic level of detachment and self‑destruction. It’s Perry who pushes the movie beyond its engineering and scientific posturing into the real thematic meat. There are more movies of this type now than there used to be, but too many are content to ask questions without ever committing to an answer. Credit to Sobol’s script for escalating things into something with crossover appeal — and with a strong sense of timing, too, as Signal One is right on the precipice of monotonous when the screw finally turns.
Genre and ideas aside, the chamber may be lavish and surprisingly large, but this is still a one‑location piece about ideas, and that combination often produces unadventurous movies averse to the visual demands of storytelling. I’d go as far as to say these are the titles with the greatest visual burden upon them: if all you’re doing is asking questions without answering them – and doing so in a flat way – it’s no surprise that so many similar works vanish without a trace. Flat is not a word I’d use for Sobol’s movie. The method of attempted communication plays into one of the consistent themes – post‑human modification and communication – not through speech, but through the arrangement of objects floating in the air. It’s most likely bunkum, but at least it’s visually pleasing, which is half the battle when you’re dealing with hard-science‑fiction ideas.
The instigating incident that pushes the movie into its third act arrives in the form of an accidentally manufactured global blackout, introducing the strong arm of the American military into proceedings. It also clarifies the awkward non‑linear sequences that appear sporadically throughout, with Annika recounting events while wearing a sci‑fi‑like contraption on her head. Without revealing too much, the climactic act does take a definitive stance and leans into one of the more nihilistic sci‑fi theories held by those with a pragmatic view of the universe. The boldest thing Signal One does is leave the story on an ambiguous note — not by ending abruptly, but by ending on the question, “Well, what happens now?” Signal One doesn’t have the vim or vigour to be anything more than coincidentally aligned with mainstream appeal, but as an indie production it never really had that option open. What we have here is the best possible outcome.
SIGNAL ONE IS OUT NOW ON SIGNATURE ENTERTAINMENT DVD & VOD
ROB’S ARCHIVE – SIGNAL ONE (2026)
Discover more from The Geek Show
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
