One of the greatest thrillers ever made...

Rating: 10/10 (6 February 2003)

M. Night Shyamalan broke through in one of the biggest ways with 'The Sixth Sense', a cleverly scripted, chillingly shot, superbly paced horror/thriller that, had it been the only film he ever made, would have assured the director a place in film history. His next film, the well-directed, but less engaging 'Unbreakable', was not quite what its predecessor was. And even though Shyamalan wrote a twist ending for 'Unbreakable', it lacked the punch of 'Sense.'
'Signs', on the other hand, is one of those rare things: a film that is practically flawless. Whether the film has a twist ending or not I will not reveal, but an unexpected denoument is not necessary for a film like this - a film that grips the audience in unrelenting dread without apology. It is rare indeed for a film-maker to succesfully manipulate a post-postmodern audience. Rarer still is a director who can do it so consistently, without cheating, without resorting to shock tactics. Also very worthy of mention is James Newton Howard's equally flawless score. Equal parts 'Psycho' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', Howard's main theme is played over the style of opening credits rarely seen nowadays. Shyamalan has been compared to Spielberg, but 'Signs' is closer to Hitchcock than anything else, and Howard is Shyamalan's Bernard Herrmann.
Shyamalan has woven tales from remnants of pop culture - ghosts, comic books, crop circles. One can only wonder what poison tale he will tell next.