Plagued by ruining its own antagonists but liberated by its heroes, suspense, and message

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2013)

This was a great film. Unfortunately, its worth is often completely missed by viewers. The only downfall is the villain. Unfortunately, this aspect was also what was making the movie a significantly terrifying movie for the first two thirds!
While the evil lurks in the shadows, the suspense of "Signs" is unstoppable. Shyamalan successfully emulates Hitchcock's "The Birds" but drops the ball in the final act by entering territory Hitchcock wisely avoided; a slapped on explanation. It is not until the lights come on that the movie falters somewhat but not in terms of character; fortunately! This is almost the scariest film I have seen when it comes to the "fear of the unknown". Not because the aliens are super scary- LOOKING, but rather because until the end they aren't SEEN much at all. It allows the audience to impress their own fears upon the aliens as is so brilliantly written into the film's best sequence which is a simple conversation on a couch.
Shyamalan is best when he doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but rather when he is putting spinning rims on the wheel. His successful films are all very typical genres but they are given an interesting context that makes them better than the average film within that genre. Ghosts, Superheroes, and Aliens are all done to death. However, the perspectives Shyamalan tells these typical premises helps them transcend the mediocre. It isn't until he tries to coming up with his own original material that things fall apart. Fortunately, there is not too much that goes astray in Signs. He wisely chooses to tell an Alien invasion story from the perspective of a small family rather than the wide-scale epic. This is where Signs really works.
Realistic characters are simply non-existent in alien invasion flicks to begin with. And yet, in this one, they are the centerpieces. They are also acted exceptionally well all around! That alone is why most people disliked this one oddly enough. They wanted aliens frying people and instead got something a lot deeper. This is simply no discredit to the film itself, in my opinion. Plain and simple, this movie, like all of Shyamalan's flicks, should be viewed as a unique film because it has a highly unique perspective.
This film explores the concept of how people react in terrifying circumstances. Do you believe that everything is just coincidences and you are alone, or do you read the events as signs of some higher power? For this reason, the film is entirely a dramatic, supernatural, and psychological thriller, and clearly not some mindless horror gore fest or a typical alien invasion romp. Furthermore, the "signs" aren't the literal crop circles. All the "signs" in the film are shown in the finale and we are left wondering if it was all just luck or part of a plan just as the main characters point out in the previous conversation. It is left to the characters and ultimately the viewer as to what they make of them...
In the end, this movie is very terrifying but at the same time immensely beautiful and character-driven. The final act succeeds in completing the main character's arch but unfortunately threw in a little too much information regarding the villains which spoils some of their impact and shows the "face of the devil". It pulls a "The Mist" and suddenly takes an unnecessary turn into left field when it was doing just fine. Yet, in comparison to "The Mist" which abandons both its mystery and its characters, "Signs" abandons its mystery but preserves and elevates its characters.
Overall, Shyamalan really accomplishes what he set out to do with this one and I believe it deserves more recognition for that.