Scary, but without much meaning

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2002)

The problem with Signs is that it tries too hard to mean more than your usual scary-alien-invasion-movie. Shyamalan hits us over the head with his central character's grief over his wife's death and his ensuing loss of faith. Even the swing of Mel Gibson--preacher turned non-believer--is extreme. This lack of subtlety, however, helps when it comes into swing in the scariness of the movie. It is claustrophobic and tense; Shyamalan uses his actors' fear to excite the emotion in the audience, rather than special effects and explosions. He falls rather short of Hitchcockian, but the end result is worth seeing nonetheless.