Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a former reverend who lives with his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) and two children Morgan and Bo on a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Following the accidental death of his wife, Graham left his congregation and lost hope in the very things he stood for as a pastor. Sixth months after her untimely death, mysterious formations appear one morning in Graham's corn field. The unexplainable crop circles cause paranoia to grip him and his family which only worsens as the circles begin appearing in fields all across the globe. As bizarre events begin to unfold, Graham's faith is tested and he must finally come to grips with the loss of his wife.

Director M. Night Shyamalan first wowed audiences with his second little production of his career, 1999's The Sixth Sense. In 2000, he followed the film up with the widely disappointing yet artistically respectable Unbreakable. In 2002, Shyamalan offers up a new creep show in Signs, a film based on the mysterious occurrences of crop circles. The number one problem with Unbreakable wasn't exactly the film itself, but the way in which it was advertised. Audiences were lead to believe it was simply about a man who is the sole survivor of a devastating train wreck who makes it out without a scratch. In actuality, however, it was about Bruce Willis's character struggling to find his way through that circumstance while a crazed man tries to make him believe that Willis is a superhero and he is his arch nemesis. A good story, yes. What the public was expecting? Definitely not.

For some people, the same is true with 2002's Signs. For those who have seen the trailer or ads for Shyamalan's fourth and newest film (third notable one, his debut was 1998's Wide Awake), Signs can be expected to be an action-packed edge-of-your-seat fright fest. However, this is not the case. Although it's not quite as far off as Unbreakable was, Signs digs considerably deeper than its horror surface. What the audience encounters is not only a movie that will make them jump out of their seats a few times, but they're also faced with the inner spiritual struggles of Gibson's character. And surprisingly enough, this movie is funnier than a lot of intended comedies (and not accidentally, either).

The film has the artistic Shyamalan flavor he gave his two previous films but, despite the excessive dark elements of those films, the comedic relief of Signs actually helps to considerably lighten the mood. The catalyst of this, most of the time, is actually found in Joaquin Phoenix's character. Shyamalan does a fantastic job of fleshing out each character in the film, but has a lot of help doing this by pacing the film just right and focusing almost the entire film on the four essential characters of the Hess family. If Signs isn't causing you to look over your shoulder or, helping you to develop a new fear of corn fields, it's pulling at your heart strings and liable to jerk a few tears in a natural way, without being forced. Gibson does an excellent job in his portrayal of the very human Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) who struggles with believing God is merciful or even cares about him or his family anymore. As a Christian, this is one of the more heart-wrenching aspects to Signs as we can understand his pain, doubt and fear.

Content-wise the movie fares surprisingly well. Just a handful of swearing is present including about three "S" words and several other colorful words or phrases. Violence is minimal with the worst being a brief shot of a barbecue grill fork sticking out of a dead animal (with just a tiny bit of blood). Shyamalan kept the film relatively tame and left plenty to the imagination. If you're a fan of thrillers that don't have to be graphic slasher-fests, Signs is right up your alley. And hey, it's got a good message, too.

I was impressed by Signs and I think it just reinforces the fact that M. Night Shyamalan is one of the best and most imaginative writers/directors/producers of our time. Signs is a great flick, but you might want to leave the kids home for this one.

We continue down the M. Night Shymalan-paved memory lane with the second of two 4K digital debuts hitting retailers on August 27, 2024. 22 years after its release, we're looking back at Signs, one of the better films in M. Night's career. I do find my statement from 2002 about Shyamalan being "one of the best and most imaginative writers/directors/producers of our time" depressingly funny now two-decades-plus later, but at the time, it definitely seemed right. (The "2002 me" would never have said that after seeing M. Night's The Last Airbender or After Earth. Yikes.)

Signs in Digital 4K - Yesterday, I covered The Sixth Sense's 4K digital debut with mixed feelings about how it looks. I am happy to report that Signs looks considerably better. Sure, it doesn't quite pop like a lot of more modern films tend to, but the picture looks great, it's crisp and clear, and the color gets a little boost. However, 4K does continue to be a bit of a double-edged sword for older movies - even ones only 20+ years old. HD has allowed for thin wires to be seen holding up things in old black-and-white films (and even 1980's Empire Strikes Back), so one can expect 4K to ruin some of the magic along the way, too. I never noticed - until this viewing (and I've seen this movie quite a few times) - that the shot of a dog surprising a couple kids as it suddenly gets aggressive is actually entirely a composite shot. The clarity and crispness of the picture makes the dog clearly having been filmed elsewhere and simply pasted in front of the children who are reacting to nothing actually being there. (The scene has always worked believably well; I just never saw the stark difference between the two pieces of the picture.) Later, a scene where a few characters sit in a parked car talking, for the first time appears to may be done in front of a green screen (but it's not glaringly obvious... unless you're an expert, I'm sure). These hardly ruin the film experience in any way; it just shows how not every aspect of a film benefits from Ultra High Definition. Overall, though, I do recommend this resolution above all previous transfers of the film.


My Review of Signs 22 Years Later - Just like how I first experienced The Sixth Sense as a bright-eyed 19-year-old who had a lot of living ahead of him yet to do, I was just 22 when I sat in the theater to watch Signs for the first time. While I'm not quite as old now as Mel Gibson was when he made this film (but I'm awfully close), Signs hits differently as a father, husband, brother and seasoned Christian. Graham totally gives up on his faith after his wife dies in a brutal car accident, and it's heartbreaking to see him wrestle with this. At one point, while he's afraid of losing another family member, he literally whispers "I hate you" to God. If we haven't struggled with our faith at any point in our life, we all probably know someone who has been where Graham is in this movie, and has entirely walked away from their beliefs. It's heartbreaking. (And I never knew how real that actually is back then; it's sadly all too real now.) Signs questions if things are meant to be, or if they are just coincidence. Are there really such things as miracles? As the story comes to a head, Graham realizes even some of the most random and mundane things all begin to make sense and have a purpose. And before the credits roll, we see him don his priest uniform once again, faith restored. It's a beautiful end to a story about aliens, and I have to commend Shyamalan for even attempting to address such themes in a largely faithless Hollywood (and a Hollywood that often makes Christians the bad guys in their stories).

22 years later, Signs is still great. Sure the CG animation of the aliens is a little dodgy, but that's not the point. It's a solid story about faith and family, and the tragedies that life throws our way. It's spooky, it's funny, and it's loaded with heart. I still recommend it.