Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsScary Good HorrorHalloween Family FunNew York Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Broadcast Signal Intrusion

  • 2021
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
Harry Shum Jr. in Broadcast Signal Intrusion (2021)
While logging tapes of decades-old TV broadcasts, video archivist James (Harry Shum Jr.) discovers a surreal and disturbing clip that James believes is the product of a mysterious broadcast signal hacking. His discovery takes a sinister turn when he tracks down similar broadcast intrusions that send him on an obsessive mission. Now James must confront two very real possibilities: that the videos may be clues to a crime beyond all comprehension; and that whoever was behind them may be very aware that James is coming uncomfortably close to the truth.
Play trailer2:07
1 Video
53 Photos
Conspiracy ThrillerCrimeDramaHorrorMysteryThriller

In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.

  • Director
    • Jacob Gentry
  • Writers
    • Phil Drinkwater
    • Tim Woodall
  • Stars
    • Harry Shum Jr.
    • Kelley Mack
    • Chris Sullivan
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    3.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jacob Gentry
    • Writers
      • Phil Drinkwater
      • Tim Woodall
    • Stars
      • Harry Shum Jr.
      • Kelley Mack
      • Chris Sullivan
    • 60User reviews
    • 73Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Videos1

    Broadcast Signal Intrusion - Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:07
    Broadcast Signal Intrusion - Official Trailer

    Photos52

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 49
    View Poster

    Top cast15

    Edit
    Harry Shum Jr.
    Harry Shum Jr.
    • James
    • (as Harry Shum Jr)
    Kelley Mack
    Kelley Mack
    • Alice
    Chris Sullivan
    Chris Sullivan
    • The Phreaker
    Michael B. Woods
    Michael B. Woods
    • Macalister
    Arif Yampolsky
    • Chester
    Richard Cotovsky
    Richard Cotovsky
    • Brad
    Steven Pringle
    • Dr. Lithgow
    • (as Steve Pringle)
    Justin Welborn
    Justin Welborn
    • Michael
    Jennifer Jelsema
    Jennifer Jelsema
    • Nora
    Anthony E. Cabral
    Anthony E. Cabral
    • Group Sharer
    Madrid St. Angelo
    Madrid St. Angelo
    • The Proprietor
    Preston Tate Jr.
    • Manfred
    James Swanton
    James Swanton
    • SAL-E Sparx
    Jeff Dlugolecki
    • Creepy Guy in Alley
    • (uncredited)
    Thomas Kosik
    • Bar Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jacob Gentry
    • Writers
      • Phil Drinkwater
      • Tim Woodall
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews60

    5.43.5K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    6Dottsylove

    interesting premise for a film

    These broadcast signal intrusions are really real. Go look it up on google. The one I know about is the Max Headroom pirate video back in the 80's CREEPY --and that's what this movie feeds on. Following a man as he searches for 3 of these specific intrusion to see if it leads to a pattern that has mystified police in the past. Creepy fun but didn't get the ending. 6.3 out of 10.
    4killercharm

    most of the movie tanks

    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.
    4awfulketchup

    Feels rather incomplete and jumbled.

    Not sure what to say, it felt like I've wasted time on a incomplete mess of a movie that tackles conspiracy theories the same way a creepypasta parodies the dangers of the dark web. I'm pretty sure that this film was inspired by the ''I feel fantastic'' robot woman video that surfaced on youtube many years ago, on paper that sounds like a great idea but in reality what we have here is a movie that has nothing to be thrilled about.

    I know I'm sounding harsh and someone out there probably enjoyed this and the people behind it had great ideas, but at the end of the day, I was bored, couldn't get invested in the actors and a plot that had potential but kept stumbling, slowing the movie to a snails phase.
    6jtindahouse

    Lacking a hook

    '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.
    4Victor_Fallon

    A man slowly goes down a very shallow rabbit-hole. Not a horror.

    Shum Jr is decent in the lead, but he's wrestling with a sloppy script and zero character development. The supporting cast is poor, all hammy hams. Every line is exposition - which I think is meant to be in the style of a 'hard-boiled detective thriller', but comes off as hokey.

    It's meant to be set in the late 90s, but the soundtrack seems to think this is a noir movie, full of saxophones and quirky embellishments. But there isn't a single visual noir element, so it never works. Then we'll get some 70s-style psychadelic music for no reason. What a mess. The cinematography flits between hand-held and locked at random, so there is no flow. It all boils down to poor direction.

    The story amounts to nothing - it's a simple procedural tale of a man investigating an unsolved mini-mystery with a bog-standard conclusion. For some reason, the movie is labeled as a 'horror', which is laughable. The VHS-style video 'intrusions' he is investigating are too hilarious to be creepy. And too innocuous. The 'crime' he is investigating for most of the runtime is the interruption of TV broadcasts. Why? Because the script says so, that's why.

    It's also too slow to be a thriller. It's like an extended X-Files episode, but not one of the good episodes.

    More like this

    Ultrasound
    5.8
    Ultrasound
    Howard's Mill
    5.9
    Howard's Mill
    Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva
    5.3
    Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva
    Butterfly Kisses
    5.9
    Butterfly Kisses
    The Signal
    6.0
    The Signal
    You Are Not My Mother
    5.8
    You Are Not My Mother
    History of the Occult
    6.4
    History of the Occult
    Broadcast Signal Intrusion
    6.1
    Broadcast Signal Intrusion
    Willow Creek
    5.1
    Willow Creek
    Come True
    6.0
    Come True
    The Conspiracy
    6.2
    The Conspiracy
    Banshee Chapter
    5.4
    Banshee Chapter

    Related interests

    Gene Hackman in The Conversation (1974)
    Conspiracy Thriller
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film's SAL-E Sparx broadcasts are patterned after actual events. In Chicago, on November 22, 1987, someone wearing a Max Headroom (1987) mask interrupted WGN's 9 o'clock news for 25 seconds. 2 hours later the same person interrupted WTTW's airing of Doctor Who (1963) for 90 seconds.
    • Goofs
      The Phreaker says he turned 15 in 1987, and the movie's set in 1999, making him 27. But the actor who plays him is over 40, and clearly looks it.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ14

    • How long is Broadcast Signal Intrusion?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 22, 2021 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Korsan Yayın
    • Production company
      • Queensbury Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 44m(104 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39:1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    You have no recently viewed pages
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.