Signs (2002)

Release Date: 2002
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin
Tagline: "It's Not Like They Didn't Warn Us."
Random Trivia: Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood both turned down the lead role, which was originally written as an older character.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: M. Night Shyamalan has two and two thirds worth of quality film shot to date. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and the first two thirds of Signs. I'm sure I'll address those others at some point, but it's a cloudy day, I'm high, and I feel like a few chills (note to HalfBaked: you jumped in Drag Me to Hell, there's witnesses, and I do believe the corn field scenes in Signs are rather creepy. Yeah Yeah I'm sure you wouldn't jump at them...).



Shoes. Corn. PJs.

Signs is the story of Graham Hess, who gives up the church (where he was a Reverend) after his wife is killed walking at the side of the road when a driver nods off and loses control. Graham lives a simple farm life with his kids Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin), and his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), a former minor-league star who holds the home run - and strike-out - records.

Graham struggles through life as a single, widowed father, brother pitching in, until one day the kids, alerted by the family pups, discover what is soon to become national news - crop circles in their corn fields. Soon enough, the crop circles spread across the globe, begging the question: What kind of Signs are they, and do we have any idea what title we could give this movie? Anything at all that would be suitable? Short, to the point, and completely descriptive of the movie's contents? Anything???



For the first two thirds of the movie, Shyamalan nails it. The atmosphere. The performances. The jump scares. The corn field scenes are fucking creepy.



As the plot unfolds, alien ships show up over Earth. The Hess family finds someone - or something - creeping around their yard, walking on their roof, and Bo does some creepy shit like getting "feelings" and saying "There's a monster in my room can I have a glass of water."



Not to mention tinfoil hats, in one of the best scenes ever to feature tinfoil hats.

Early on, the movie suffers from the typical Shyamalan plot devices - the convenient source of info, which happens to be a book on alien invasion which has all the answers, and himself - a tepid performance as the driver responsible for the death of Graham's wife. Who happens to have trapped an alien in his pantry. 'Ol Mother Hubbard?

Overall, however the movie rocks and builds to a climax as the family boards up the house to fend off alien ground troops.

And then, with the four of them holed up in the basement, door jammed, lights flickering, they-

drop the fucking ball. I'm calling out M. Night on this one. You should have stopped the movie here! Have some balls and end it on a cliffhanger. Let the audience decide whether the Hess family lives or dies. Cut to black, and leave it, because this is the high point of the movie. It's fucking scary, at least as a concept, and it works out pretty good on film.

Alas, the movie continues, because Hollywood likes neat endings, and Shyamalan needs his twist. And it stops being scary with the big reveal - the lame ass, poorly lit CGI alien.



From here on out, Shyamalan begins a downward spiral - in this flick, and career-wise.

I'm still giving it a decent rating. It was a cool concept that just didn't have the stones to go all the way, but it's still damn entertaining. The twist - how they fend off the alien, and how all kinds of signs pointed to that moment - was half-baked, which reflects the score the movie is getting.

That's not to say you shouldn't watch it. With the lights out. On a stormy night. Just turn it off when things go dark in the basement...

Overall Rating: Half-Baked (3 out of 5)