'Signs' of intelligent life in Hollywood.

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2010)

My Take: A criminally underrated thriller with some genuinely suspenseful moments and a meditation of faith.
For my money, M. Night Shymalan is one of the most misunderstood directors working in Hollywood, if not the one that tops the list. With a body of work which began with the success of THE SIXTH SENSE, Shymalan has made some of the most intriguing films ever to sprout from Hollywood, even if not all of his works are great or perfect in every way. His stories are more than just superior genre entries or just-plain-weird movies, some of them also deal with some sort of personal or religious issue. Although the setup is consistent in every film, each film is always different from the last one; each new movie is something worth waiting for with the thought of how he would pull it off, even if it sort of give us a feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty.
The basic premise for SIGNS can be summed up in a few words: Aliens attack a farmhouse. Former preacher widower Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) wakes up one morning to find a large crop circle in his field of corn, stunning both his kids and brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), especially when strange unseen men run around the fields at night. But SIGNS is more than just an average alien-invasion movie, or a typical sci-fi movie. In fact, SIGNS goes beyond science-fiction and into the realm of fear; it's not about giving off scientific jargon or explanations, it's just about the fear and uncertainty of the unknown. This is probably why many were so disappointed with the films big "twist" (which, despite a few holes, is not too big a deal). The character of a widower and problematic father has been ventured before, but this isn't the only thing tackled in the movie. There's the relevant use of a past death which affects future events in life. Then there's the question of believing in "seeing miracles" as opposed to believing that people "just get lucky", which is the whole point of the much-maligned twist ending. And the way Shymalan builds tension in the situations is something worth noting. How he uses simple everyday tools as in a Baby Monitor, a glass of water and flashlights as means to establish suspense is a triumph. He might have not been the heir of the throne of the great Hitchcock, but he sure learned a lot from him.
Whereas Shymalan's other films deal with certain issues, SIGNS is about faith, bending the science-fiction genre into a drama with certain questions about faith. It's not just about questioning the existence of a God, but if He really is out there, are we willing to put our faith in Him in times of perilous situations? But Shymalan discusses these issue in a hushed tone; they never come off too preachy or overbearing. SIGNS is an example of the intriguing, albeit different, storytelling abilities of the underrated Shymalan. It's a slow-burn thriller which will still continue to divide the audience. To some, it may come off as a slow-moving science-fiction thriller. To others, myself included, it's old-fashioned film making and storytelling at its best.
Rating: ***** out of 5.