11 Years Ago, a Great Sci-Fi Movie Bombed Despite Having One of the Best Twists in History

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Science fiction is known for its surprising twists, and one of the best recent examples is in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. The film features a young girl, Murph, who seemingly interacts with a ghost – which is eventually revealed to be her father communicating with her across time and space through a complex structure called a tesseract. This reveal is so clever that it practically demands a second viewing to catch all the subtle clues Nolan plants throughout the movie. However, Interstellar isn’t the only film with great twists; its popularity and success simply mean more people are talking about it.

As a sci-fi fan, I’ve seen a lot of cool twists hidden in not-so-great movies. Take The Butterfly Effect, for instance – it really struggled to figure out what it wanted to be, ending up with four totally different versions of the main character’s life. But the director’s cut is insane – it has the character go back in time and… well, kill himself before he’s even born! It’s a twist that, honestly, most movies haven’t even attempted. There was a film released a decade later that didn’t quite reach that level of shock, but I think it still deserves more recognition; it’s got a fantastic story and a really clever twist that people seem to overlook.

Interstellar Didn’t Have the Best Sci-Fi Twist of 2014

Just a few months before the release of the popular movie Interstellar, a smaller film called The Signal came out. It stars Brenton Thwaites and Laurence Fishburne and tells the story of college students driving to California. The couple, Nic and Haley, are having relationship problems because Nic worries his Muscular Dystrophy is creating difficulties. Despite Haley’s disagreement, they can’t resolve their issues when they track down a hacker known as “NOMAD” to a house in Nevada. After entering the house, the group loses consciousness and wakes up in a government building.

Nic struggles to get clear answers from Dr. Wallace Damon, the facility’s director, who claims the group encountered an alien being. Things become even more bizarre when Nic discovers his legs have been replaced with alien technology. After his friend Jonah manages to escape, the others follow and start to understand what’s really happening. A second encounter with Damon allows Nic to clearly see his name tag, which is actually “NOMAD” spelled backward. With the truth revealed, Damon transforms, exposing that they aren’t in a government building, but on a spaceship traveling to an alien world. This shocking twist is sure to be unsettling, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough to save the future of The Signal.

The Signal Was Never Given a Fair Shot

Before it came out, The Signal earned praise from critics who liked its ambitious ideas. However, good reviews didn’t translate to ticket sales; the film only made $2.4 million despite costing $4 million to produce. Because of this disappointing result, studio executives lost interest in a sequel, even though director William Eubanks had hinted at a more expansive follow-up with a larger role for Haley.

Currently, the best chance for The Signal to find success is if a streaming service picks it up. If enough viewers start recommending it online, that could improve the chances of a sequel being made. However, success isn’t certain, as the streaming landscape is just as unpredictable as the challenges faced by the characters Nic and his friends.

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2025-11-15 20:41