Summary
M. Night Shyamalan’sSignsis, unfortunately, best remembered for its nonsensical water twist, but there’s one thing that bothers me a lot more than that. M. Night Shyamalan is known for his horror and sci-fi movies and his use of plot twists, though not all of them have had the desired effect on the audience. Fresh off the success ofUnbreakable, Shyamalan brought the sci-fi horror movieSignsin 2002, starring Mel Gibson as Graham Hess and Joaquin Phoenix as his brother, Merrill Hess.
Graham was a farmer and former Episcopal priest, who lived with his son Morgan, daughter Bo, and Merrill, who moved in with them after Graham’s wife was killed in a traffic accident. When large crop circles appeared on their farm, Graham suspected it was the work of vandals, but they soon learned of a worldwide alien invasion, and these creatures were a lot closer to them than they thought.Signs’ suspense crashes down with the twist reveal of the aliens’ weakness being water, but for me, it crashed way earlier with how it handled the big reveal of the aliens’ physical appearance.
The More I Think About Signs’ Big Alien Twist, The Less It Makes Sense
Signs served as a great introduction to sci-fi horror, and while we can defend the ending alien twist, there are still more problems than answers.
Signs’ Alien Reveal Is Actually Pretty Disappointing
Signs’ Reveal Of The Aliens’ Physical Appearance Was Underwhelming
The birthday party video shows all the guests running to the window and an alien walking past it, giving a supposed first look at the creatures.
The scene that is often brought up when talking aboutSignsis the birthday party one (though I think that the scene of Morgan, Bo, and Merrill with their tinfoil hats is a lot more memorable). Merrill is watching the news when they show a home video of a children’s birthday party in Brazil. The video shows all the guests running to the window and an alien walking past it, giving a supposed first look at the creatures. Thisscene has been consideredSigns’ scariest one, but I differ because I actually found it to be quite disappointing and underwhelming.
The birthday party scene inSignsisn’t as effective as widely believed becausethe aliens had already been shown before. In the first minutes of the movie, Shyamalan shows an alien on the rooftop of the farm, when Graham takes Bo back to her bed after she sees someone standing there. Although it doesn’t show the details of the aliens’ physical appearance, it gives a clear idea of how tall they are, their proportions, and even a bit of the texture of their skin.
The claw scene is a lot more effective as what the viewer expects is to see the alien’s reflection on the knife.
Then there’s the pantry scene, wherea clawed hand emerges from under the doorand Graham cuts off the fingers in panic. This scene is a lot more effective as what the viewer expects is to see the alien’s reflection on the knife, not a claw coming out and almost getting Graham. The birthday party scene also doesn’t work because the alien walks by very slowly and casually in front of the window, which takes away any potential impact or jumpscare (no wonderScary Movie 3poked so much fun at this particular scene).
Signsspends a large part of its time building the suspense around the alien invasion, its effects on Earth, and what the aliens look like (Morgan even gives different options for what they could look like, according to a book), only for them to be shown in the most underwhelming way.
Signs’ Alien Disappointment Got Worse As The Movie Continued
While I still thinkSignsis an entertaining watch, it leaves more questions than answers.
If the underwhelming alien reveal had beenSigns’ only problem, I could let it pass, but the disappointment only got worse. While I still thinkSignsis an entertaining watch, it leaves more questions than answers, andit has some truly nonsensical parts that, sadly, contributed to Shyamalan’s reputationfor not always making effective plot twists. Of course, the most debated part ofSignsis the nonsensical water twist, as the aliens are revealed to be weakened and killed by water, yet they are invading a planet that is mostly water, but there are other disappointing elements, too.
ThroughoutSigns, the audience follows along with Graham and Merrill the evolution of the alien invasion, starting with the crops, followed by the strange behavior of animals, and the first sightings of aliens and their ships – and yet,the real purpose and mission of the aliens is never revealed. The audience is left wondering why they invaded Earth in the first place (and why didn’t they know it’s a planet mostly made of water?), and every “weird” or “mysterious” thing suddenly serves a purpose, as are Bo’s many glasses of water, Morgan’s asthma, and the last words of Graham’s wife to Merrill.
While I do agree thatSignsshows Shyamalan’s talent at building suspense, I also feel it shows some of his biggest flaws, such as how his stories lack direction sometimes and the underwhelming “big reveals” that can be found in more than one of his movies.Signswill still be a must-watch of the sci-fi horror genre, but there are some flaws that can’t be ignored.
Signs
Signs is a sci-fi horror film by director M. Night Shyamalan. It follows devout priest Graham Hess and his family as they find themselves in the middle of a mysterious event where crop circles appear in the middle of their farmland. Then, seeing the entire world begin to experience similar phenomena, the family starts to worry about their safety and the end of days as they ponder what may be coming.
