Day 2 of Space/Alien Week! This time we watched Signs, a 2002 movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan before the Avatar disaster and starring Mel Gibson before the anti-Semitism disaster. Its strong cast also features Rory the Younger of Clan Culkin, Joaquin “We Live in a Society” Phoenix, and Abigail “Must be Protected at All Costs” Breslin. Mel Gibson plays a loving father which, strangely enough, is the only thing that has not aged well in this movie. Signs, unlike most alien movies, tackles the challenge of depicting how the world would realistically respond to an alien invasion from the perspective of a small-town family. It’s scale is small enough to relate to while peppered with the larger consideration of the world around our little family of protagonists.
First, let me say this: Signs wastes no time. Immediately, you are thrown into a narrative centering on a farmer’s corn field and the mysterious signs–oh M. Night, you clever bastard–that have been imprinted onto it. From there, you get a taste of the coming disaster with terrific tension and dread balanced with a little peak into the characters’ personal lives. Throw in adorable child actor performances and an easily-excitable Army recruiter and you’ve got a movie that is as suspenseful as it is charming.
Signs is a masterclass in the old forgotten adage “less is more.” The suspense, though rather immediately introduced, is a bit of a slow burn that forces you to earn every glimpse of our alien invaders that you get. The narrative asks interesting if not very deep questions about faith and spiritual determinism, but honestly the narrative themes aren’t anything to write home about. What makes this movie great is the honest portrayal of what happens when common people feel like they’re losing control: the fear, the anger, the survival instincts. The dread that is prevalent throughout the movie is not because the monsters are terribly scary themselves but because it is truly palpable. You can feel the control and security slipping away with each scene, and that kind of immersion will make anyone scared and earns a place on my top list of alien movies.
Next up, boys and girls, The Fourth Kind. It’s on HBO as well!
