Signal One (2026)

 

“Thoughtful, Well-Made Science Fiction”

SIGNAL ONE, a new and engrossing piece of ‘quiet SF’ is getting a digital HD and DVD release from Signature Entertainment.

Annika (Isabelle Fuhrman from the ORPHAN movies) is a quantum physicist who has made great progress in the analysis of dark matter. She is offered a job by tech billionaire Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) to work for him for a year on a secret project on an isolated island off the coast of Cuba. The twist is she won't know what she's working on until she gets there.

When she arrive she finds herself joined by an electronics wizz (Josh Hutcherson) and they both quickly realise they are there to assist David Thewis’ former alcoholic and drug abusing pioneering astrophysicist. He has built a machine that he believes can communicate with alien life. The two of them are essentially there to iron out a few teething problems which prove to be minor, leaving them to debate the question: should they send the message and thus reveal the earth’s existence to the rest of the universe, or not?

Of course it would be a less interesting film if they didn’t, so rest assure they go ahead, but what happens as a result will provide as much fodder for post-film thought and discussion as whether or not they should have in the first place. 

        SIGNAL ONE is well shot, well acted and, at 87 minutes, doesn’t outstay its welcome. In fact it feels very much like a good old-fashioned television play - more interested in ideas and philosophical concepts than special effects, although the ones we get are absolutely fine. It could therefore could be considered to sit in the same subgenre of speculative SF as Denis Villeneuve’s ARRIVAL. And if you liked that then you’ll certainly want to give SIGNAL ONE a look. Here’s the trailer:

SIGNAL ONE is out on Digital HD and DVD from Signature Entertainment on Monday 15th June 2026