A Great Movie

Rating: Null/10 (4 August 2002)

It seems as though everyone is willing to trash movies based on the hype, or the expectations. The better a movie is "supposed" to be, the harder people look to find all the flaws that detract from it. I'm not one of those people. Does anybody remember the days when you went to a movie just to be entertained for a few hours? When you would "suspend disbelief" just for a short time, so you could glimpse the world the filmmaker wanted to show you? On this level, "Signs" is undoubtedly one of the SCARIEST movies I have seen in some time. M. Night Shyamalan has provided another one of his trademark "tie up all the loose ends in one neat package" endings. To get us there, however, he builds tension throughout the movie, relieved only partially with a small "goose" here and there to keep us on out toes. He also uses some elements of humor to whistle past the graveyard.
*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
We only get a few quick glimpses of the alien menace right up until the very end, but each one of these peeks took me about a mile up out of my seat. Especially the news footage... I've seen it three times now, and it has sent shivers down my spine each time. The thing that really impressed me was how the movie focused on how AVERAGE people would be affected by an invasion. Independance Day showed us the view of those on the front lines of the battle. Signs tells the story of people in homes just like yours and mine. My only gripe is that any Bucks County PA farmer (minister or not) would have at least one shotgun in the house. I've been to Bucks County. Guns are a way of life when you've got acreage and children to protect.
All in all, this was a great flick. It gives you some truly well-done scares (and not a single ounce of blood or gore), a tied-together ending, and some brain-food about fate, faith, and how we sometimes need to trust in things we don't understand. And really, if you feel this movie is worthy of a bad review, I just have one thing to say: Harry and the Hendersons