Cinemuse | 'Signs' (2002)

A reflection for Macabre Monday.

May 20, 2024

Signs is considered “science fiction”, yes. (It’s also an M. Night Shyamalan film, which feels like a film genre unto itself.)

But it’s also considered a horror film.

At least, that’s what Wikipedia says — and that’s good enough for me!

Overview

Signs finds a small and wounded family at the precipice of “the world as we know it.” It’s not long until they’re rapidly falling into an abyss of uncertainty following the mysterious appearances of premeditated crop circles in their corn fields. Mel Gibson plays Graham Hess, the patriarch and grieving widower tasked with raising his small children played by baby versions of Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. Joaquin Phoenix rounds out the main cast playing Graham’s younger brother, Merrill, who moves in with the rest of the Hess family after Graham’s wife dies in a freak accident. As everything turns from weird to sickening, the bewildered family must come to terms with their faith in pretty much everything and everyone as it becomes very clear just what those crop circles ultimately foretell.

Film Appreciation

Say what you will about Shyamalan’s writing, Signs has a wonderful way of setting up its audience with no choice but to reality test each new piece of “evidence” we’re saddled with — which I wholly support. Are the crop circles and belligerent dogs a coincidence? Could there possibly be some explanation or hoax behind these disturbances and others as media attention heightens? Or is something else amiss?

The tension really builds. Shyamalan goes simple but truly leaves you guessing as to what is actually going on plot-wise. It’s awesome. To my delight, flavors of hardcore paranoia and conspiracy theories sky rocket not long after the appearance of those peculiar crop circles.

Aluminum foil hats. A scarily detailed book about UFOs. Townies convinced there is an alternate agenda like subliminal messaging to get you to buy more Coca-Cola.

And then — the worshipping of the television as a device begins. One of my favorite visual tropes in horror movies is the elevation of the conventional TV set to a supporting cast member in the story. Poltergeist (1982) and Videodrome (1983) come to mind. You know when a family starts having heated debates as to when or why the TV should be on or off, things are about to really ramp up!

And scene after scene of that blue light cast onto each of their faces becomes creepily evocative. That dead pan stare as their eyes glaze over. The stillness, like Greek statues. They barely blink. Truly unnerving as an audience member.

Another light source expertly used in this film is flashlights. Again, simple but super effective. Personally, when the flashlights come out, even though I know exactly how the filmmakers are going to use them, my stomach wrenches up and some other nervous tic emerges. Predictable and boring? Maybe. But tell that to my stomach and nerves!

An easy concept, no? Just follow the beam of light…

Quiet tricks, lovely acting, and a Shyamalan worthy ending. What’s not to enjoy?

Tl;DR

Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix give up being macho brash men for 1 movie only to find themselves in the middle of either the biggest global prank known to mankind or something, ironically, a lot deadlier.

My favorite things about this movie:

Culkin’s and Breslin’s performances. Cute and creepy, love it.
Watching 2 typically very tough guys raise small children.
Cherry Jones. Once again, she gives a devastatingly beautiful performance. Absolutely adore her.
That darn use of a flashlight. (Gave me a heart attack, lord have mercy.)

You can watch Signs for free on YouTube right now.

Here’s to another heart stopping Macabre Monday! Have you seen Signs lately? What do you think — is it as creepy crawly as you remember? Are you a fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s films? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

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An aluminum foil hat tip to the The Macabre Monday Team:

Be sure to check out the rest of the things from another world: