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Movies / On DVD / Signs
Signs

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Signs (2002)

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Reviews Counted:218

Fresh:161

Rotten:57

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: With Signs, Shyamalan proves once again an expert at building suspense and giving audiences the chills.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: It's contaminated. That's what pint-sized Bo (Abigail Breslin) says about every glass of water that she tries to drink, then rejects. This is just one in a long list of strange occurrences that are... It's contaminated. That's what pint-sized Bo (Abigail Breslin) says about every glass of water that she tries to drink, then rejects. This is just one in a long list of strange occurrences that are changing the lives of the Hess family. Things go awry when Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), awake early one morning to find the dogs barking and the children--Bo, and her brother Morgan (Rory Culkin)--wandering bleary eyed in the corn fields. They discover a pattern of perfectly carved crop circles left the night before. Trying not to overreact, Graham ignores the media frenzy that has permeated all television and radio stations, and even shrugs off the oddly familiar information that Morgan reads in his book about extraterrestrials invading earth. The real challenge for Graham is to find the faith he needs to pull himself, and his family, through this unexplainable series of events. SIGNS is the long-anticipated film from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE), a suspenseful and uniquely chilling family story. [More]

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones, M. Night Shyamalan, Patricia Kalember

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Screenwriter: M. Night Shyamalan
Producer: Frank Marshall, Sam Mercer
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Touchstone Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Signs

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Shyamalan is technically a superb film-maker, for all that he's picked up most of his tricks from Spielberg and Hitchcock.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For the most part, the script is extremely well written, allowing each character to shine and developing some interesting ideas. It is also, frequently, very funny.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The work of a filmmaker who has secrets buried at the heart of his story and knows how to take time revealing them. Strange occurrences build in the mind of the viewer and take on extreme urgency.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
10/06/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

This talented and, at 32, very young director must now find new ideas -- maybe working with someone else's scripts. Because his film-making identity is in danger of fading.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/02/02
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A terrific suspense movie, overlaid with a faintly embarrassing tale of faith lost and perhaps regained.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
10/02/02
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Sight and Sound

Shyamalan continues his run of moody, skilfully-constructed pictures. Pity about plot weaknesses and the pretentious dialogue.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
09/17/02
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
FilmFour.com

Gibson is on top form, and there are some genuinely terrifying moments that will have you cowering behind your popcorn.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/26/02
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Without ever touching on a cliche (except to poke fun at it), Shyamalan skillfully builds the film on several layers -- personal redemption, family drama, community-in-crisis, world on the brink.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/08/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

An anti-Independence Day, a cousin of Close Encounters, but most of all, a well-modulated, dread-laden, faith-based mystery. [Blu-Ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/01/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Crap circles.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment 7 Comments
08/05/07
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Individual sequences generate an eerie tension that's always deflated, creating a jarring stop-and-go rhythm, and the atmospheric trickery never strays beyond a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/06/07
Hank Sartin
Hank Sartin
Chicago Reader

I come away from Signs exhilarated by Shyamalan's skill at keeping his audience guessing.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

The one good thing about it is that it’s over in one hour and 47 minutes. The bad thing is to think what a terrible waste it was of an hour and 47 minutes.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
10/07/04
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

A gripping and well-made thriller that preserves Shyamalan’s winning streak and shows us, as all the best films do, a world that we’re familiar with and believe in, and yet we’ve never seen, and by which we’re endlessly fascinated.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
02/01/04
Todd Gilchrist
Todd Gilchrist
FilmStew.com

great

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
01/10/04
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

Click to read review

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/06/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

Shyamalan fancies himself a philosopher whose stories have deep and important meanings that need to be conveyed to audiences as slowly and heavy-handedly as possible.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
01/01/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Gibson gives one of the best performances of his career...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Latest News for Signs

February 14, 2009: The Joaquin Phoenix Signs Interview: On mixing it up with aliens, thumb wars, and fear of the press. Opens in new window
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