Signs (2002)

The ending ruins it

(Review contains spoilers)

Signs is a movie that starts out kind of slow, then gets more suspenseful as time goes on, looks promising for a little while, and then falls completely flat.

I'm going to mention but mostly ignore the obvious flaws in the plot, like the fact that the aliens to whom water is poisonous choose to come to a planet permeated with it. Those flaws are forgivable. I can perform some logical gymnastics and say that maybe it's only liquid water that's harmful. I'm not saying this makes a lot of sense, but I can at least put that aside.

What can't be put aside is the pathetic ending. It turns out that a bunch of bad stuff that happened in the past turned out to be God's way of preparing this family to live through the alien invasion, including the wife's death in an accident. Her final words, "swing away", which the priest had originally thought were just random thoughts from a no-longer-coherent mind, turn out to be a prophetic message telling the brother to take the bat off the wall and try to beat the alien to death with it.

Seriously? God needed to kill this woman in this horrible way so that she could deliver a message from beyond that maybe, possibly, it just might be a good idea to use the weapons you have lying around the house to defend yourself from a hostile intruder? No, really? These guys actually needed to have this carefully orchestrated set of circumstances to get it into their heads that maybe picking up the baseball bat and hitting the alien with it would be a good idea?

The movie desperately wanted to have a message of "Everything happens for a reason, even the bad stuff, so keep the faith." Just about everyone in the movie at some point says, "I don't know. It was almost like I was meant to [do whatever bad thing I did]." But things like the "swing away" prophecy just didn't allow that message to be taken seriously. And, all in all, this movie was a pretty big disappointment. December 8, 2008

Thrills And Chills With A Spiritual Message

I recently watched SIGNS for the first time and was surprised it was so much "deeper" than the usual "alien invader" movie. I'm not a big Mel Gibson fan but I can't deny his acting is first rate as a priest who has lost his faith after a personal tragedy. Juaquin Phillips is also very good as his former minor league baseball playing brother who just couldn't stop swinging. And the kids (Abigail Breslin and Rory Culkin) playing Morgan and Bo are just amazing. I'm taking a star off because I think Shymalen made a mistake in giving us such close up looks of the creatures because frankly they are so obviously fake looking they are just not that scary and giving the viewers brief glimpses of them would have been more effective. I also am not fond of the flashback scenes to a tragic accident as again less would have been more. Still, this is a good movie that raises some interesting points for further thought and discussion. November 23, 2008

Are you kidding me with 3.5 stars avg. with this movie?

This movie was one of the worst. The Happening from the same director/writer WAS the worst!
November 16, 2008

"There's a monster outside my room. Can I have a glass of water?"

Back when M. Night Shamalamadingdong was still thought of as a Hollywood wunderkind, SIGNS, following The Sixth Sense (Collector's Edition Series) and Unbreakable (Two-Disc Vista Series), merely reaffirmed the man's cinematic creds. Donning our Hindsight-Is-20/20 Goggles, we note that The Village (Widescreen Vista Series) came along afterwards and began to elicit them doubts, them doubts. But, for now, we're focusing on SIGNS, a pretty terrific psychological thriller.

If you haven't seen this movie before, you're in for something different, and I mean that in a good way. SIGNS, dual meaning noted, is one of those films where the less you know about it, going in, the better the viewing experience. The premise, in bare bones, centers on a grieving family living in a desolate Pennsylvanian farmhouse and the strange things which begin to happen to them. Okay, here's a minor spoiler: It begins with the family patriarch nosing around in the cornfields and chancing upon inexplicable crop circles.

Fear works best when cultivated in the mind. Hitchcock knew this, and Shyamalan, eagerly borrowing a page from the Master of Suspense, manipulates the viewer's imagination and invites the brain to wander into all those dark scary places. In SIGNS, the horror is sparing in its physical manifestations. The scenes unveil in restrained fashion. Shyamalan allows the tension to build, utilizing an unsettling score, an unexpected noise here, a fleeting movement there. Above all, Shyamalan makes use of his very, very good actors to lay down a groundwork of uneasiness. Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, and the kids are very good, their characters coming off as uncomfortable in their skins and just a bit disturbing. In probing the psychological scars of this troubled family, Shyamalan also paves the way for their salvation. Made captive to the brooding atmosphere, I jumped at every turn and kept waiting, just waiting, for that nasty somehing to come tap-tap-tap on the bedroom window. So effective is the film in generating that eerie mood that when the bogeyman finally does appear in all its glory, I actually felt a pang of letdown. To quote Peggy Lee: "Is that all there is?" But the build up was so good!

Not to say that there aren't several genuine jump-in-your-seat moments. Wait for the pantry sequence and wait for that video tape from Brazil. They're good for ambushing that peace of mind.

I dig the offbeat vibe. I won't mention the context, but there's a baby monitor, tin foil, and half-empty glasses of water which all play key roles to the plot. SIGNS also breaks into metaphysical ground and meditates on the power of belief and faith and the interconnectivity of things. Something in my brain clicked, satisfyingly, when, near the end, the ex-reverend instructs the ex-baseball player to "Swing away, Merrill." Aha, I thought. That's what that was all about!

In watching SIGNS, in experiencing this quiet creeping up of terror, you could see why the movie world was lauding Shyamalan so effusively. After thrilling to this one years ago, I couldn't wait to see what Shyamalan had next in store. But we won't talk about THE VILLAGE, okay? October 28, 2008

CINEMA PERFECTION

While those who are new to Mr. Shyamalans' directing style may have been somewhat turned off by his recent release (The Happening) those who refuse to see this film do themselves a great disservice.The plot reolves around one Pennsylvanian family recovering from a recent tragedy who now watch with the world as the earth prepares for an alien invasion.In all my years of watching films I have never seen a movie deliver in every aspect such as this.Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix deliver some of the most convincing and human performances ever seen.A plethera of other actors nail their small yet powerful roles perfectly.Every emotion is triggered by this film,you will laugh,cry and you will fear.However, it is the way you fear that is most unique,instead of being shown an alien right upfont,the audience is given a situation such as hearing something running on the roof or seeing a shadow pass by the window,you don't know what is on the other side but you have an idea what it wants.Bottom line,this film is perfect in every way and it succeeds in everything it sets out to do.Perfect casting,scripting and an unforgettable musical score will leave you spellbound.One of the most unique films of our time is waiting for you,find out for yourself. October 12, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...