Spellbinding.

Rating: 7/10 (3 August 2002)

In this movie I went in simply looking for M. Night Shamylan to prove himself to me a third time. The Sixth Sense was absolutely amazing, and Unbreakable, although not nearly as good, wasn't as bad as critics made it out to me. Yet with Signs, Shamylan has really written a screenplay that proves he can do great things. His direction is extraordinary. Once again he has made children, not ordinarily great actors, shine...and he has mixed comic relief in with masterful suspense. The film is thorougly entertaining, and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. Well-written parts include a film laced with the question of faith, of the existence of God...and the movie is layered with an element of hope even in its darkest moments, something I believe to be symbolic of God. Extra terrestrials are seen only a few times in the film, but when they come they make you jump and they come at exactly the right times. Also, hand it to the people behind the scenes who worked on the sound. This film's sound is among the best of the year, and the music score, which is composed of mainly three notes played in a haunting and beautiful way is great and makes the film terrifying in a way that movies like Scream and Halloween couldn't do with their violent predictible moments blotched all over. While I am glorifying this film and making it out to sound perfect, there are still plot incositincies and moments that aren't quite as great as others. Still, this movie, while not as good as Sixth Sense, has proven Shamylan can tell a story as well as anyone in Hollywood. 8/10.