The Broadcast Incident - Die Verschwörung

Don't worry about spoilers. I'm not entirely sure I know what happened.

I love obscure, ambiguous endings open to broad interpretation...up to a point. The ending here was a bit too "not sure how to wrap this one up, so...here you go." Roll credits. Or maybe it was the result of slash and burn editing. I don't know.

The lead (James) was believable and intense, and the mystery, atmosphere, and creepy imagery definitely held my attention. The music was...ugh. Distracting and, well...intrusive at times. Almost like the composer was scoring a completely different film.

I have my own theory about the ending, but this one requires a re-watch. Few horror movies warrant revisiting, but even with its flaws, this isn't one I'll forget 20min after the end credits. I'm not lazy about probing alternate interpretations, but I need something a bit more solid to work with. That being said, I will watch this one again and scour for clues. I rarely write reviews, but this one was effective as an "experience," if not as a full-fledged narrative.

If you're OK with the slow burn and can tolerate a "WTF" ending, give this one a shot. I can overlook some of the technical drawbacks if a movie is unique, memorable, and brave enough to abandon the horror formula. The cliches are here, too, of course, but this movie is miles above 90% of current horror fare.

Had high hopes for this mystery-horror. The real life BSI phenomenon has always intrigued me. The movie draws inspiration from the (still unsolved) real life 1987 Max Headroom US signal hijackings, and the 2004 'I Feel Fantastic' internet videos, featuring Tara the android. The performances of Harry Shum Jr as lead character James, and Kelley Mack as his mysterious helper, Alice, are very good. The rest of the cast are pretty solid. Jacob Gentry's direction and Scott Thiele's cinematography create a strong sense of unease. The idea of James coming to terms with a recent loss whilst at the same time tracking the source of a series of mysterious broadcasts he stumbles across whilst cataloguing archive VHS recordings is one that pulls you in. The meetings with mysterious figures offering tantalising crumbs of information along the way wouldn't be out of place in The X-Files, whilst the sense of disassociation and other-worldliness put me in mind of The Last Broadcast (1998), Banshee Chapter (2013), and Censor (2021).

But despite looking great and having an interesting hook I found it a letdown. I like slow-burn thrillers/horrors - but they need a payoff. This... kinda did, but what exactly happens and the real answer to the mystery are never explained. Some movies lead you to a place where you have to work it out. This doesn't do that; it leaves you guessing - which isn't the same thing. There are a ton of fan-theories online about what it all means, what's/who's real, what/who isn't; but they're just that - fan-theories. There's nothing that fits perfectly. And despite some strong imagery that stays with you, I was left feeling I'd wasted my time. I'm sure the director can justify every choice he made, but for me he missed the mark. Good acting, premise, and atmosphere get it a 5/10.

'Broadcast Signal Intrusion' is a strange movie. It's based around a character who is obsessed with a conspiracy he has stumbled upon, however we don't really understand his motives or obsession, and so it can be quite hard to stay invested in it with him. Where it all ends up actually turns out to be reasonably interesting, but we don't know that's going to be the case, and so the journey can be an arduous one.

The movie does a good job of feeling like it is set in the 90s. It doesn't just feel like a movie set then, it feels like one that was made then. It also does a good job of utilising its clearly minimal budget.

The film's biggest problem is that it is lacking a hook. It isn't particularly scary, and it isn't always captivating in its narrative, so the audience may find itself drifting along purposeless at times. It's not a terrible film, but is reasonably forgettable. 6/10.

Not enough meat on the bone for this script, seemed like a decent setup but it never really got out of the first act and failed to establish any kind of "stakes" to help ramp up the tension. Overall production values were decent and the acting fine for the most part. I suggest giving this one a miss however as even the "creepy pasta" subject-matter is unfulfilling.

This movie is kind of nowhere and it goes nowhere. The one thing done well in this flick is the videos that start to unhinge our hero. The videos are creepy and unsettling and intriguing. It's too bad the rest of the movie tanks. A widower who is now very alone finds reason to think there is a conspiracy, or at least linked up crimes are hinted at in a series of signal hijackings.