While an idea surrounding the final segments of the film shares similarities with a past cult classic in the genre, M. Night Shyamalan proves that seeing is not always the scariest, as the filmmaker creates moments where your imagination runs free of what really is happening, allowing for a truly frightening experience at its terrifying spots.

With a concluding segment (last 15 - 20 mins) that will likely result in pure shrieking screams from millions of moviegoers, Signs could be labeled as the perfect Halloween flick, offering gut-wrenching horror moments to great comic relief. The mystery of Signs is well worth the wait and one hell of a ride, as the film stands as one of the best films in the genre.


THEY DO NOT COME IN PEACE...   September 13, 2002
 56 out of 70 found this review helpful

This is a superlative movie on many levels, and the director, M. Night Shyamalan, proves that he is a force with which to be reckoned. After his blockbuster hit, "The Sixth Sense', the viewing audience expected great things from him. When his next film, "Unbreakable", did not draw the raves that "The Sixth Sense" did, the viewing public anxiously awaited his next film to see if Shyamalan could, once again, hit it out of the ballpark. With "Signs", he confirms that he is, indeed, one of the directorial greats.

This film is about many things. It is about loss of a loved one. It is about family. It is about relationships. It is about things that we cannot control. It is about the inexplicable. It is about destiny. Yes, it is most certainly about alien invasion. It is also ultimately about one man's crisis of faith.

The film is a wonderful, scary, and amazing film. It centers around the Hess family, who has recently sustained the loss of Colleen Hess (Patricia Kalember) in a terrible accident one night. Wife to Graham (Mel Gibson), mother to Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin), and sister-in-law to Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), her death was felt on many levels. Graham, a minister in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was so distraught over the senseless (or so he thinks) death of his wife, that he left his ministry and is now living a purely secular life with their children and his brother, Merrill. Graham simply cannot understand why God has seemingly forsaken him. The death of his wife has divested him of his faith, and he finds himself struggling in the world without it.

One morning, Graham discovers crop circles in the cornfield in front of his house. Other strange things begin to happen, all while he is trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in a world that has suddenly changed in a way that he could never have envisioned. Worldwide, crop circles are mysteriously appearing, seemingly strategically, and, before one knows it, alien invaders are here. They are creepy. They are scary. They do not come in peace. The focus of the film is not so much on the alien invaders, however, but on how the family responds and interacts in this time of crisis.

There are some very frightening scenes in this film. They are all the more frightening for what one does not see rather than what one does see. There are some aspects of "The Blair Witch Project" at work here. Shyamalan certainly understands the concept that less is sometimes more and uses it to great effect. The effective use of tension by the director is one of the great strengths of this film. Sly, subtle humor is also used to great advantage. The other important component of the film is the acting.

There is not one bad performance in this film. Shyamalan, who normally gives himself a brief cameo in his own films, gave himself the part of Ray Reddy, the man who was the catalyst for the tragedy that enveloped the Hess household. He gives a more than credible performance. Abigail Breslin is simply delightful as little Bo, a child too young to fully comprehend what is going on around her, but who, nonetheless, reacts to its shifting permutations. Rory Culkin (yes, Macauley's younger brother in real life) gives a wonderfully intense performance as Bo's big brother. A somewhat singleminded child, he immediately becomes a believer in extraterrestrials and tries to gain an understanding on his own of what is to come.

It is Mel Gibson, however, along with Joaquin Phoenix, who ratchets up the ante. Mel Gibson gives a beautifully nuanced and sensitive performance, playing it totally straight with occasional flashes of humor. It is a performance of a conflicted man who cannot bear what has happened to him and does not reach an understanding until it is almost too late. In the end, he is able to see how some of what has happened to his family has had a semblance of a greater design. Even his wife's last words to him, so seemingly meaningless before, grow rich with meaning at the end.

Joaquin Phoenix is one of the younger generation's most talented actors. He infuses the role of Merrill with a vulnerability that is, at times, heartbreaking. Yet, somehow the viewer knows that the Hess family can count on him to be there for them one hundred percent. While he is not so conflicted as his brother Graham, however, he seems to need validation.

As the film barrels towards its climactic ending, scenes leading up to Colleen's last moments are woven throughout the film. This serves to show the viewer that the events of the present have meaning when grounded in the context of the past. It will come full circle in the end. This is a wonderful, beautiful, suspenseful, and scary film that is well worth seeing, and I eagerly await release of the DVD.


By M. Night Shyamalan comes an exciting Sci-Fi Thriller!   June 5, 2002
 29 out of 59 found this review helpful

The Movie

Most people have heard about Crop circles and always have wondered who made them, whether they were a sign, created by an extraterrestrial, or a fraud. This movie tells the story of a father (Mel Gibbon) who lives happily with his family in a rural area in Bucks County, PA. When crop circles the size of football fields start to show up around their county and in the world in numerous amounts, people start to worry. All the animals in Bucks County start to act strange as if they would to a predator. Then citizens lives are threatened by a mysterious, opposing, terrifying alien species. Oscar caliber performances are expected to come from this electrifying, hair raising thriller by M. Night Shyamalan.

Pros:
1. Excellent plot is centered on real occurrences that even today confound the most prestigious scientists.
2. Classic portrayal of horror when the mysterious terrified is not shown on screen as a whole; this let's one imagination run wild and it's more scary than actually seeing it.
3. Mel Gibson portrays the perfect part as a father destined to protect his family at all costs.
4. Superior website let's it's audience access many extra features correlating to crop circles.

Cons:
1. None


Shyamalan is one creepy creative director!   August 14, 2002
 27 out of 38 found this review helpful

After starring in hugely successful comedies and hit historical films, Gibson is back in a refreshing new movie. Very different from other hits this summer, in it's second week receiving over $110 million at the US box-office, "Signs" is a must-see. The movie doesn't bore you to sleep with too many details. It concentrates on the horror theme. It may not be the sixth sense but it's still great! The movie is very interesting and quite emotional. It definitely has the gripping suspense and the fearful moments that have made us enjoy horror flicks. It's yet another film by Shyamalan that'll make you consider similar things for quite a while.

The Hess family- a modern everyday family with happy times all the time!- NOT! Problems are taking place with the Hess family-strange problems. The story revolves around graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson) and his brother Merrill who awaken to find their dogs barking fiercely. The kids (brother-sister) are wandering around in the cornfields as if under somebody's commander as if they're zombies. If that wasn't strange enough, crop circles are spotted. The TV industry is going wild, and graham tries his best to ignore it all. He reads about aliens (no! It's not an alien movie). The plot shows Graham trying to get things back to normal.

Shyamalan once again shows that he's great at making horror flicks. He's prepared yet another brilliant film that you'll have to see this summer. It's a reality problems show and a horror hour show. It's mystical and thought provoking. The cast did a great job. The plot was enthralling. It deserves raving reviews. It has it's share of humour. It's a great modern thriller. It's spooky and it's worth a check.

Despite having the mystery plot and the thought-provoking scenes, "Signs" is only a must for horror flicks, sixth sense, the others, and Gibson movie fans. You'll probably also enjoy it if you like interesting stories and love reading Higgins type mysteries. Don't bother to see it if you're looking for a romantic comedy (What women want), a historically based movie (Patriot, Braveheart), or a reality problems flick (the Mel-Julia duo film).