"See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"
If you’re a horror fan (or a film enthusiast is general!), you will have no doubt seen The Sixth Sense which is one of the best movies ever made, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. If you haven't, I implore you to do so because it is a demonstration of some of the best writing, acting and directing that you will ever see. The film put Shyamalan on the map as an extremely talented director, especially with the release of his next film, Unbreakable, the following year. Recently, however, the infamous director is widely agreed to have gone downhill in terms of the quality of his films, particularly with infamous flops like The Last Airbender and After Earth.
Many say that his decline began with the release of Signs in 2002: even now, it is a movie that continues to divide viewers. Most think that it is merely mediocre- I, however, count it as one of my favourite movies of all time and I wanted to take the time to talk about why.
I’ll be doing a non-spoiler and spoiler section so perhaps I can convince you to watch it if you haven’t already done so or alternatively shed some light on why I think this is a great film if you have.
Non-spoiler section
The IMDb plot synopsis for the film reads:
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
At first glance, Signs is a science-fiction alien invasion movie. But, in contrast to the majority of movies in this genre, it does not succumb to clichés such as an Independence Day-style destruction of the White House or shots of terrified crowds running away from spaceships firing laser beams (which are clichés that I do enjoy for what they are!). This is a very different alien invasion movie, with elements of horror, faith and love interspersed within the extra-terrestrial invasion story.
"There's a monster outside my room. Can I have a glass of water?"
I primarily see it, therefore, as a family drama rather than a conventional sci-fi. The fact that there are aliens is a secondary matter in my opinion and not what this movie is about at all. This is a story about a family trying to deal with a loss and about a man who has lost faith in God. It just so happens that there are aliens.
Nevertheless, viewing it as an alien invasion movie does have its merits as it is a genuinely unique and tense experience. This is partly due to the fact that all the events occur from the perspective of one family, with this being the initial idea that sparked Shyamalan to write the script. This makes it a very realistic portrayal of the experience that a family may have if there really were visitors from another planet with the only information they have available through the news or their neighbors.
As shown in The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan is a master at building suspense through direction, sound design and cinematography; this movie is extremely creepy but more for what is NOT shown then what is. The aliens are seldom seen, but that’s what makes their appearances so effective (there’s a scene involving a roof that always terrifies me, for example). The film leaves it up to your imagination to fill in the gaps and that's what makes it all the more chilling.
If you enjoy this movie on this level, as an alien movie, then you are likely to be disappointed by the ending. I feel that this is the reason why the movie gets a lot of negative criticism- if you’re expecting an alien invasion movie, then the conclusion is understandably anti-climactic. On the other hand, if you are watching this as a movie about faith, then the end is likely one you will remember for a long time. As an exploration of God and miracles, the ending is extremely powerful and is one that resonates with me deeply.
"Listen, Bo. This is very important. Everything people have written in science books is about to change. The history of the world's future is on the TV right now"
Leading on from this, the merits of watching this as a family drama is the excellent acting: all four main leads (including the children) are very likeable, balancing the humour and emotion of the story seamlessly. Every member of the small family as well as the secondary characters (one of whom is played by the director himself in his traditional cameo) feel natural and their relationships never comes off as forced. My favourite of the four is Merril, played by Joaquin Phoenix- the character is such a loyal uncle and brother, and Phoenix himself is brilliant at both the comedic and the emotional scenes. The children are both adorable, played by Rory Culkin (Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin's brother) and an adorable Abigail Breslin. The stand out in terms of acting is Mel Gibson as the lead, who delivers a subtle yet moving performance, especially when dealing with the bitterness that his character feels towards religion.
Additionally, the direction is masterful- as an example there is a shot of a torch on the ground and the only thing you see on screen is the characters frantic footsteps as they run past it. Shyamalan's direction is the reason why the movie feels eerie and tense, and he does a fantastic job at building tension and then releasing it in small doses throughout the run time.
There are also lots of little details that you don't quite catch upon the first viewing that are a testament to Shyamalan's fantastic writing (if you want to watch a great analysis video after you've watched the film, I've linked to one in the spoiler section).
I briefly mentioned the comedy in the film, which I find to be extremely effective as it furthers the characters and provides moments of levity in a tense and creepy atmosphere. Much of this comedy comes from the building paranoia within the family about the aliens, pictured above. Another way in which the humour is effective is that it makes the characters more endearing and thus makes you care about them throughout the movie. This is especially done with Bo, Morgan and Merrill's growing obsession with conspiracy theories about the aliens.
To finish off, I must mention the brilliant score by James Newton Howard which fills the movie with a sense of eeriness and dread right from the opening credits (which like much of the movie is inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock). It is one of my favourite scores of all time and really enhances the tone of the movie, complementing the acting and direction. Not only does it make a lot of the scenes 100 times scarier, it also makes the emotional climax absolutely breath-taking.
SPOILER Section
Since we are now in the spoiler section (you have been warned!), I'd like to discuss some of my favourite scenes in Signs.
For me, the most terrifying scene in the film, which I alluded to before, is when Graham glimpses an alien on the roof. It is seen only for a second, and in silhouette, but is still highly effective because your imagination fills in the rest. Another rare sighting of the aliens in the film is during the Brazilian birthday party scene (you know exactly what I'm talking about!) which is the audience's first proper glimpse at one of the extra-terrestrials. The build up to the first look at the aliens is masterful because of the genuinely terrifying reactions from the Brazilian children and Merrill.
However, as I mentioned before, it is mostly the things we do not see that are the most effective- this technique in fact elevates the few scenes where we do glimpse the aliens. Imagine if we saw the aliens throughout the movie- would we be as scared on the whole? Probably not. An example of this less-is-more approach is when the aliens are breaking into the house with the four stuck inside towards the end. The sound design almost entirely carries the tension of the scene- the sound of the dog barking that is abruptly cut off, the scraping against the wood, the crashes coming from upstairs. The viewer is entirely immersed and scared, and yet we don’t see a single alien.
"Swing away, Merril. Merril? Swing away"
Let’s talk about the 'twist'. The moment Graham says the line above might have been the moment that put you off the movie. "That's the twist?!" I hear you exclaim. "That the wife had to die to predict all these events to save the family and Bo put the water out and Morgan had asthma and Merril had the baseball bat...etc etc". Perhaps I can’t get you to change your mind on it, but from my perspective this is a powerful ending. Is it a twist on the scale of The Sixth Sense? Is it impossible to see coming? No. But that’s not what it’s trying to be.
It goes back to the quote right at the very start of this article (scroll up- I'll wait). Graham has lost faith in God because his wife died but her death, as well as Bo's strange obsession with water and Morgan's asthma, saves their lives in a situation that seemed hopeless. You can see these conveniences in two ways: as contrived coincidences (in which case you probably despise the ending) or as miracles (signs). Regardless of your stance, the most important point is that Graham sees it as a sign and therefore starts believing in God again. You don't have to be religious to appreciate the end because the arc is for the character of Graham and Graham alone. The events of this movie have changed his entire belief system.
Another major criticism that the movie gets revolves around the alien's so called 'allergy' to water- "why would the aliens come to a planet made of 75% water?" I hear you ask. A lot of theories and explanations have been offered up online that are perfectly valid regarding this plot point, but I feel that if this is your biggest problem with the movie then you are completely missing the point. It's like I mentioned before: this film is ideally viewed as a drama. It isn't trying to be the greatest science fiction movie ever created. The reason why the director chose water as the thing that ultimately brings the aliens down is to further the religious themes within the film i.e. water is associated with purity and the aliens are associated with demons.
"Dad? What happened? Did someone save me?
Yeah, baby, I think someone did."
If I had to criticise the ending of Signs in any way I would perhaps argue that the instructions given by Graham's wife 'swing away' (whilst goosebump-inducing) are slightly redundant because Graham could have realised (without his wife dying) that there was a bat hanging right next to them with which to defend themselves. But that doesn't take away from how much I like the film.
As mentioned before, I understand why some may have a problem with the ending but I would encourage you to appreciate the greatness of the rest of the movie if that is the case, as there really is a lot of enjoyment to be had elsewhere, even if you cannot be convinced of the brilliance of the end.
Chris Stuckmann, a movie reviewer on YouTube, has made a FANTASTIC video about the film-making in Signs that will no doubt do a better job of what I’m trying to say in this article. If it can't convince you of the greatness of the film then I'm afraid nothing will.
He also recorded a hilarious commentary track with Youtube channel Pretty Much It
Thank you for reading about my opinion on Signs: I would love to hear your thoughts if you were convinced to watch it, particularly what you think of the ending. Please do watch the analysis video linked above, as it is fantastically explained, and opened my eyes to lots of hidden details in the film...