Signs Movie Review

Warning: Of course there are spoilers below.

Even though M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 release, Signs, is almost fifteen years old, I'm writing this review because it's had such an impact on my life.  It's one of my all time favorite movies, but that wasn't always the case.  Watching it for the first time as a 12 year old allowed me to experience it with fascination and intense fear.  I had always enjoyed scary movies in the comfort of daylight, but at night, the creepy images would replay in my head.  Signs is one of those films you continue to think about long after seeing it.  When the sun went down, I'd make a trail of lights, darting from one room to the next with shivers of terror running through my body because I couldn't shake the thought of one of the aliens appearing in front of me.  

The story is centered around Graham, his children, Bo and Morgan, and his brother, Merrill.  All the actors do a great job of convincing us there is an alien invasion occurring in their small town.  This was actually the first role I saw Mel Gibson in and I thought he was excellent at portraying a grieving man who is running away from God.  Some of the best scenes are between Graham and his brother, played by Joaquin Phoenix.  Upon first viewing, I thought the part when the brothers discuss fate versus coincidence was the most boring part of the movie.  Later in life, I felt a whole new appreciation for it because of course, fate and coincidence are major themes.  There are so many subtleties throughout that can only be noticed upon multiple viewings.

This movie is unique because the only perspective we get is from this one family.  It is able to weave suspense and humor together perfectly.  The humor is a significant component because it makes the characters extremely relatable.  One of my favorite scenes is when Graham and Merrill are doing a perimeter run around the house because they think Lionel Prichard and the Wolfington brothers, are up to something.  (On a side note, the names they chose for the neighborhood boys are great because they sound like what you might hear in a real small town.)  Since Graham's identity is still tied to being a reverend, he doesn't know how to curse in order to scare them off.  When his brother tries to teach him, it gets hilarious.  The next morning when they're describing a suspect to a policewoman, they can't quite make any specifications on what he looked like.  We as the audience know it was an alien, but the brothers insist it was a man.  The officer says based on their scant description, it could be anyone and we get this great line from Merrill: "Excluding the possibility that a female Scandinavian Olympian was running around outside our house last night, what else might be a possibility?".

The scariest parts of this movie are done so cleverly because they're shown in small glimpses.  The alien on the rooftop always makes me jump.  Bo's calm reaction to there being a "monster" outside gives this scene an eerie vibe. This is when we first see one of the creatures and Graham begins to suspect something really strange is happening.  When he's in the crop circle, we hear the aliens communicating and then see one of their legs for a split second.  In the pantry scene, only a hand is shown.  Then of course, we get the birthday party footage.  This has never left my mind and haunted me ever since.  The coal shoot scene prevented me from being able to go to the bathroom by myself for a week because I imagined a hand grabbing my shoulder while I was sitting on the toilet.   The aliens are revealed to us in such a gradual way that you remain on the edge of your seat until the end, when we get the best view of them.  It's so chilling when the pantry alien is first seen in the reflection of the TV.

Components that have been building during the entire movie all come together perfectly in the finale.  Each character has been experiencing something significant and we finally see why.  Graham has been struggling with the loss of his wife and her last words to him are "Tell Merrill to swing away".  This, as well as Merrill's baseball background, Morgan having asthma, and Bo's aversion to "old water", all work together to help them defeat the alien.  We realize all these things happened for this moment.  

Signs allowed me to experience film on a whole new level because of it's complexity.  After being terrified every night the week after seeing it, I decided I could no longer let fear control me.  I prayed for God to help me get over it.  As I got older, I was able to watch horror films and gradually got to where I wouldn't even think about being afraid at night.  In a way, Signs paved the way for me to become more desensitized to scary movies.  But it does so much more than that.  I discover things I missed every time I watch it.  As an adult, I still get chills when I see those iconic scenes.