Shyalaman's best film yet.

Rating: 9/10 (13 October 2005)

I have seen all of Shyalaman's films, including the newer "The Village", but Signs takes home the gold. The film has some truly terrifying moments and you never know what will happen next or where, which always keeps you on your toes, trying to look out for little details to help you figure out some kind of indication to a future scary moment. I believe Shyalaman was aware of that so he very carefully situated the setting and the script.
The cast is good which includes Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. The movie uses their relationship along with the kids to help move along the movie. It works well because the movie focuses s lot around family. The movie also shares the center point with faith.
During a midnight conversation between Gibson and Phoenix, Gibson makes us ask ourself if we believe in coincidence or faith. He explains that we either think everything happens for a reason, or that its all chance. We never know what the right answer is or what Gibson thinks at the end of the film which keeps us guessing. And that's always nice.
But what truly makes this a Shyalaman classic is the suspense and the horror. And that's saying something because the only other recently modern movie that had us this scared was The Ring. Some scenes are so scary that I actually saw people walk out of the theater. Not just kids either. One specific scene shows Phoenix watching TV and suddenly we see an alien run through someones drive-way in Brazil. It's really sudden and very scary. But I didn't like what Shyalaman shows us in the end of the film, which I won't give away.
Overall, the movie has a nice take on the whole crop circle idea and has a nice ending. The movie works for all genres really; drama, family, horror, suspense, and a little comedy. This is really Shyalaman's best film yet.