MovieChat Forums > The Signal (2008) Discussion > Why do people enjoy movies that don't ma...

Why do people enjoy movies that don't make sense?

posted 12 years ago by andrewshor
24 replies | jump to latest

I've just watched the movie and I'm surprised by how many positive reviews it has on IMDb. It seems to me that there's a lot of people who think that movies that don't make sense are somehow "original" or "inventive". This movie had so much potential to be great but it ended up as a confusing mess.

A lot of the time it was impossible to tell if the events were a flashback or a hallucination or something really happening in the present. The most basic thing that any story should have is a coherent plot where events are arranged in chronological order and any flashbacks are clearly indicated. Even if the movie involves lots of hallucinating characters, by the end, the viewer should have a clear idea of what really happened throughout the movie and where the characters have ended up.

[–] ScrimmSphere 12 years ago

I just watched it too. Nothing special. Pontypool is far superior.

[–] overninethousand 12 years ago

Pantypool was pretentious le bullsh!t for people who hate hamburgers but enjoy eating frogs.

The Signal was better than The Crazies (and its remake too). Or Rabid and Shivers and all the others such quasi-zombie outbreak films.

Better than Stephen King's The Cell, too.

[–] activista 11 years ago

@overninethousand

PONTYPOOL is one of the best zombie movies I've seen in the past ten years---nothing the least bit pretentious about it, and it has a fresh Canadian take on the whole zombie genre,and it kicked a** because it was so well-written,and genuinely creepy in some parts on top of that---I'd recommend it to anyone who likes anything unique,different and out of the mainstream. It didn't get a lot of hype either when it came out, but it's definitely worth tracking down.

[–] divisionbell-2 10 years ago

Pontypool was great until about 3/4 in when it all just falls apart. I was glued to the screen until it starts really going into the possible cause and how to fix it.

[–] hexrei 12 years ago

"The most basic thing that any story should have is a coherent plot where events are arranged in chronological order"

Wow, Tarantino films must just PISS YOU OFF then.

[–] brightfamouscucumber 12 years ago

The most basic thing that any story should have is a coherent plot where events are arranged in chronological order and any flashbacks are clearly indicated

So, why is it, do you think, that the various versions of "The Holy Bible" and the 'Jewish Bible', are, collectively, the worlds most popular set of stories ever sold? And why is number two on that list The Q'ran?

Neither have any coherent plot,

Neither are arranged entirely in chronological order,

and Neither have much in the way of clearly indicated flashbacks.

People like stories either because the stories are entertaining, or they are educational, or both.

And people like me like what you call

a confusing mess

because by being allowed to use our imagination beyond what is placed right there before us, we are permitted to expand the story into anything that causes it to make sense, at least to ourselves.

Perhaps what you need to do is grow an imagination.

[–] urasawa 10 years ago

Why? Because a big percentage of the world's population is dumb. That's always been the case, and your "appeal to popularity" (a lot of people like it so it must be good/right) is an argument against yourself. I don't think people are dumb for liking this movie, though, because they certainly don't like it for the same reason people adhere to religion (i.e. child indoctrination, by far the biggest reason people buy into this bs). I just think your comparison is extremely faulty.

[–] tbonesays 10 years ago

The Bible is a collection of religious writings. It is many stories, much like the Wikipedia is not a coherent story

Even the Wikipedia is written better than this film.

[–] caressque 12 years ago

This film was pretty straight forward. It made perfect sense.

Signal comes through TV and radio that makes people crazy. The more exposed they are to the signal, the crazier they become.

[–] tipopwilliams 11 years ago

The only part of the movie that had me confused was when Ben kneeled down to wake Mya our of her stupor. They escape, with Clark in tow, and finally make their way to the train (which miraculously is stull running despite all the madness.) I was thinking "What the F? They're trying to force a happy ending on all of this? What about…" and then it ended, and you realize that was just Ben's fantasy. In reality, she was forever F-ed up by being forced to watch the signal for who knows how long.

Other than that one part (which was *supposed* to confuse you… it was a fake-out), every other part of the movie made perfect sense given the insanity of the characters.

In the end, it's very clear what really happened to the characters, though the source of the signal remained a mystery.

[–] Dejay 10 years ago

But the last scene he puts her headphones on, she closes her eyes, cries and shows some relief. There is no reason to assume that she is permanently *beep* up, that she can't come out of it or that there is some kind of cure. Ben was similarly transfixed by the signal and was somehow immune to it.

The music / headphones where used during the movie as a device to isolate and "protect" her from the craziness outside.

It's still strange of course to have a positive fakeout and then another potentially positive ending. Except that those people even if they manage to find ways to remain functional and cut out the "noise" will always have to be suspicious about what they see and do.

[–] kairingler 11 years ago

I hope you are never forced to watch a Quentin Tarantino movie,, where the middle is the beginning, the end the middle and the begging the end,, everything sometimes isnt'always tied up in neat little bows.
are you going to bark all day little doggie,, or are you going to bite

[–] PterryFan 11 years ago

I watched it,I understood it , I enjoyed it.

[–] Amthermandes 10 years ago

Stick to the typical Hollywood narrative then, this movie made complete sense to me. Great film, and usually I get lost in movies with deep plots.

"NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!!"

[–] cancangirl4 10 years ago

This is a really great movie. 3 different segments that takes us on a tremendous journey. Really solid "9"