A few good scares but for the most part dull (1 spoiler)

Rating: Null/10 (12 February 2003)

I'm not sure I can explain why, but the ending in Signs was too convenient. The water thing, a little too on the nose if you ask me, and the wife's message at the end, same thing. In the film business they are called plants and payoffs, but they are most effective when they are subtle. But here we see glasses of water all over the house for the whole film, so when their power is discovered, you feel like "oh that's good then".
Obviously this is a small imperfection in the film, but there are much larger ones. For one, Gibson put me to sleep. He didn't have a very "fatherly" presence in the film, so I never fully believed he was this rural farming dad. I always felt like he just got out of his Mercedes, put on a flannel shirt and stood on the set 10 minutes before shooting.
And Shamalan needs to stop acting in his films. Not that he's a bad actor, for the roles he was in he was fine. The problem is that there are thousands of struggling actors trying to get a break into the business who could really bring the role to life. Shamalan has got his big break; he got 4 mil from Disney just for writing the thing. It's a little self-absorbed. Subtle cameos are cool, like Hitchcock did, because its fun to look for them. Shamalan is in your face for 5 minutes of the film. Give someone else a chance.
Sure the film isn't that original, but nothing in Hollywood is anymore. If you want original your going to have to go to a short film festival where there isn't any studio money involved. He isn't ripping people off, and he's not paying homage either. He's taking proven ideas to help propel his story, that's the way it works in this business.
There are some good scares in Signs, and one of the bright spots in the film is the sound design. What you can't see but can hear on the other side of a wall can be just as scary as an alien chasing you down a hall.

It's an adequate film with dull performances and a slow start, but it has just enough suspense to prevent you from turning it off to do your taxes.
-IR