Signs (2002)

[8]

Mel Gibson headlines this M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable) sci-fi thriller about a single father (Gibson) of two young children and his younger brother (Joaquin Phoenix) who discover mysterious crop circles in their fields. Signs unfolds like George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, depicting a global nightmare — in this case, alien invasion — from the claustrophobic perspective of one family on a remote, rural farm. Once the aliens begin making their presence known, the creep factor escalates and Shyamalan brings some remarkable, Hitchcockian directorial panache to the proceedings.

Standout moments include the first moment we see an alien, which Shyamalan presents through a TV news broadcast of shaky home video captured by a South American family at a child’s birthday party. Hearing the children scream when the alien emerges from the bushes and quickly crosses an alleyway is reminiscent of Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin’s infamous sasquatch footage made famous in 1967. The scene is further boosted by Joaquin Phoenix’s terrified reaction to it. Another highlight is when Gibson, Phoenix and the two children (played by Rory Culkin and future Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin) are under siege by the aliens in their farmhouse’s basement. When the overhead bulb gets knocked out, Shyamalan lights the scene with a lone flashlight and lets a significant portion of the sequence play out in total darkness. This scene is emblematic of the film’s restrained, purposeful directing. Shyamalan knows not to show too much, that letting us use our imaginations is the best way to engage us in the storytelling.

Signs isn’t perfect, of course. Shyamalan, who also wrote the film, gets self-indulgent with Gibson’s character’s back-story. I dislike the he’s a former priest who regains his faith over the course of the screenplay. There is a moment in the film when Gibson explains to Phoenix that there are two types of people in the world — those with a fatalistic view (or religious faith), and those who believe everything is mere coincidence. This didactic moment is re-played to eye-rolling effect just prior to the third act climax. If Shyamalan had excised this element from an otherwise terrific film, it could have been a classic alongside such greats as Jaws or Romero’s aforementioned zombie classic.

With a striking score from James Newton Howard, and a nice supporting performance by Cherry Jones as the local sheriff.