M. Night In His Prime

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2017)

Coming off of "The Sixth Sense" & "Unbreakable", filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan was in the prime of his "pull the wool over our eyes" type of films. It sure shows in this gem of a film dealing with both aliens and the question of "fate vs. coincidence".
For a basic plot summary, "Signs" sees Rev. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson), brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), son Morgan (Rory Caulkin), and daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin) suddenly dealing with an alien presence, begun by a strange crop circle on the nearby property. This comes on he heels of the death of the mother of the family, so the remaining family members struggle to deal with this new test.
What makes this movie so great is that, short of "Sixth Sense", it is the best "trick ending" of any M. Night film. I won't say any more for fear of spoiling it for you, but suffice it to say that your jaw will be on the floor (provided you are "going in blind", of course, without any prior knowledge). The ending even fits in with the context of the overall film, which is an area in which it surpasses later works such as "The Village" & "Lady In The Water".
The acting is also terrific, with Gibson giving a poignant performance as the faithless former preacher. Phoenix and the children characters provide some much-needed comic relief in such a dark (and sometimes emotionally dreary) film. As usual, one of M. Night's most underrated directorial talents shines through: the ability to change the mood of a piece on a dime, perfectly blending satire with mystery/adventure without either getting stale.
Overall, "Signs" is a wonderful movie if you are a fan of mysteries or sci-fi tales. It even has the "human touch" to vault it into all-time favorite status. Incredibly, after fooling us already with "Sixth Sense", M. Night turns around a scant few years later and turns the exact same trick. Remarkable.