A spiritual film, not a monster movie

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2004)

Casual online movie reviewers keep missing the true message of films and pan them because they expected something more pedestrian. What high standards we've set for ourselves!
To anyone with a little depth, "Signs" was clearly not meant to be a disaster flick or special effects showcase. The movie is more about a Man losing and regaining his faith in life, God or whatever. In many ways, the alien plot serves as a backdrop to the plight of the characters, though it's center stage all the while. I don't think the movie was meant to be scary in the usual sense. The uplifting soundtrack balances a sense of doom with a promise of hope.
Almost the whole film is seen from the angle of an isolated farmhouse and its inhabitants, freeing us from the usual hype of command centers, bickering authorities and views of mass suffering. That's how any average person would witness an alien invasion; from their own porch. And that's what made this movie different for me. I hope that most viewers at least understood why it's called "Signs" and what those signs meant in the context of a suffering family. I won't call it a completely profound or flawless film but it's certainly compelling and above average.