Shyamalan is technically a superb film-maker, for all that he's picked up most of his tricks from Spielberg and Hitchcock.
Signs (2002)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Signs
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.
A terrific suspense movie, overlaid with a faintly embarrassing tale of faith lost and perhaps regained.
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.
Gibson is on top form, and there are some genuinely terrifying moments that will have you cowering behind your popcorn.
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.
Shyamalan continues his run of moody, skilfully-constructed pictures. Pity about plot weaknesses and the pretentious dialogue.
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.
This is the creepiest Hollywood thriller in a very long while and almost definitely this year's horror flick par excellence.
Tense and creepy...Shyamalan's strongest paranormal thriller to date.
One of the most effective movies so far at capturing a jittery nation's case of the yips.
Those who can buy into [Shyamalan's spiritual] hypothesis will accept 'Signs' more fully than those who might find it a somewhat facile simplification
Aliens are simply the flashy Hollywood vehicle through which Shyamalan channels a more redeeming message.
Reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, most of the scary parts in 'Signs' occur while waiting for things to happen.
A great movie. People went to Signs expecting to see intestines, and what they got was heart, and a lot to think about.
From the opening credits, dominated by an intriguing score by James Newton Howard, Signs draws you in, holding you in expectation as Shyamalan peels his story as leisurely as if he were paring an apple.
Produces the sensation that you are experiencing something for the first time, rather than a genre retread.
Some filmgoers may feel drunk on only mood but… consider the intoxication. Shyamalan is almost peerless in crafting [moody], self-contained scenes…
Writer/ director M. Night Shyamalan’s ability to pull together easily accessible stories that resonate with profundity is undeniable.
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