# Signs (2002)



## tokyogirl (Jul 13, 2002)

*1st again!*

looks like i'm the first again!  well, the movie hasn't come out yet but i can't wait to go see it.  i love mel gibson (yum!)  and the movie looks really cool.  i think it's about time that they actually did a movie about crop circles.  plus you've got to love his daughter in the promos:

'daddy there's a monster outside my room can i have a glass of water?'

i love how she says it like it's all one scentence.  like no big deal.


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## Tabitha (Jul 15, 2002)

*Signs (2002) Plot spoilers...*

Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix team up with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable director M Night Shyamalan in this new movie that investigates the possible origins of crop cirles.  Are they a  message, a warning?  Come August, we will find out!

The synopsis is basically: In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a five-hundred-foot crop circle is found on the farm of Graham Hess (Gibson), the town's reverend. The circles cause a media frenzy and test Hess's faith as he journeys to find out the truth behind the crop circles

Signs IMDB Entry

Over at www.aintitcool.com Harry Knowles reports the following:


> Hey folks, Harry here with the next major, oh my god I can't wait to see it, movies of the summer. Unfortunately, I'm likely to be in China when the press screenings happen... and when it opens, so I'm not likely to give you an early look at what I think of this till sometime after the ninth of August. So, till then, here's Capone with the latest from Shyamalan...
> 
> Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here. It's been several hours since I sat through a screening for local Disney execs of M. Night Shyamalan's latest work SIGNS, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the film was about or even how to discuss it. Like his last two films (THE SIXTH SENSE and UNBREAKABLE), SIGNS is probably better left undiscussed prior to watching it. But boy oh boy, once you've seen it, you may have trouble shutting up about it. Unlike Shyamalan's previous films, there is no surprise ending, which is not to say you'll see the climax coming at all. The film is part awesome "X-Files" episode, part "War of the Worlds," part b-movie, part comedy, part "Waltons" episode. Yet M. Night knows how to masterfully blend these elements into a lovely, cohesive sci-fi chamber piece, set largely in one gothic Pennsylvania farm house.
> 
> ...


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## Tabitha (Jul 15, 2002)

If that has you all interested, you can catch the director talking about this movie on July 22, according the scifiwire:



> Director Hosts Signs Special
> 
> M. Night Shyamalan, director of the upcoming SF thriller film Signs, will host an ABC special called M. Night Shyamalan's Signs of Fear on July 22, the Zap2it.com Web site reported. The hour-long program consists of 10 segments in which real people describe a terrifying experience that actually happened to them and how it affected their lives.
> 
> Shyamalan illustrates the accounts with clips from his own films, which include The Sixth Sense, and from others, including Poltergeist and Twister, the site reported. Signs, about crop circles, opens Aug. 2 from Disney's Touchstone unit; ABC is also owned by Disney.


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## Tabitha (Jul 18, 2002)

Just spotted the trailer for this film - it looks to be pretty good.  I wonder if there will be a twist in the ending as per the director's previous outings (Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense)?


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## Tabitha (Jul 22, 2002)

www.scifi.com/scifiwire reports:


> Signs Has More Feeling
> 
> M. Night Shyamalan, writer and director of the upcoming SF thriller film Signs, told SCI FI Wire that he wanted to infuse his new movie with more emotionâ€”something he had shied away from in his previous two movies, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. â€œEmotion is something that I â€¦ struggle with, because Iâ€™m an emotional guy. â€¦ Iâ€™m definitely more emotional than the average Joe, you know?â€ Shyamalan said in an interview while promoting the new film.
> 
> ...


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## Dave (Jul 29, 2002)

*Gibson Had Own Signs *

Mel Gibson, who stars in the upcoming SF thriller film Signs, told SCI FI Wire that he had a near-death experience in his youth that mirrors the coincidental miracles in M. Night Shyamalan's new movie. Gibson stars as a former priest facing the mystery of crop circles on his family farm, as well as intimations of something greater around him.

The movie's complex theme brought to mind a near-miss auto accident, Gibson told reporters while promoting the film. "I remember driving really fast across [Australia], from Adelaide to Sydney," Gibson recalled. "I was like 21 years old. ... I was probably doing about 95 all the way across the Hay Plain in my little four-cylinder Ford. A real junk box. I finally hit the Blue Mountains before you get into Sydney, and I got caught behind this truck, and he was doing probably 35, going around these really windy roads, up and up and up. ... I wanted to get out from behind this truck, but there was never a straight place to overtake him. ... [There] had been a bit of drizzle and soft edges, and ... it was the kind of road that was up on a mountain that was carved out of a wall. ... I took off out from behind the truck and jammed on the gas and just went flying past the guy. ... And I looked up, and there was a truck coming in the other direction. ... And the last thing I remember before I simply just covered up in a crouch position, let go of the steering wheel and put it in the hands of the Almighty was a massive gum tree coming right at me, ... just before it went down over the cliff. ... And I felt this bang, boom, bang, like this. And I took my hands off, and the car was OK, and the big gum tree was pressed against one side of the car door, and it had dented it in. And the other side of the car was a sapling. And I had been caught between the two trees, and the front wheels were hanging over the abyss. ... Somebody had his hand on me that day. And I figure it's things like that that kind of inform you of something greater than yourself perhaps watching over you." Signs opens Aug. 2.


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## Dave (Aug 3, 2002)

*Signs may give the wrong Signals to Crop Circle research*

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Experts on "crop circles" are concerned that M. Night Shyamalanâ€™s new film, "Signs," may attract unwanted attention to their research. 

First noticed in the 1980s, crop circles have appeared mostly in fields across England and are alleged to have supernatural origins, even though several people have admitted to creating them as part of a hoax. Many experts believe that most of the circles are not man-made. 

'Signs' centers on a widowed father (Mel Gibson) who discovers crop circles in his fields in Pennsylvania. "Knowing this guy's movies, it's going to be a little more thoughtful than 'Independence Day,' but it's not going to have much to do with the real crop circles," British researcher Charles R. Mallet, told the Associated Press.

Another expert, Linda Howe, even explained that filmmakers had asked to use one of her books about crop circles in the film, but she refused because "They wanted to put an image there with murder or death or danger, something to do with dark fear. I could not have my book tied in with any wrong information with crop formations."


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## Kanazaka (Apr 24, 2005)

I don't quite understand why film critics and others bashed the look of the aliens in *Signs*, since I thought that they looked scary enough, and they were plenty dangerous enough for the purposes of the plot.  I'll admit, though, that the real terror came from the actor reactions to the impending threat, as well as to the aliens themselves.  All of the actors delivered very good performances, even M. Night Shyamalan in his cameo.  My favorite scene in the film is when Rory Culkin's character holds up the baby monitor to listen for alien communication.  The acting, sound effects and music worked together very well to create suspense in that moment.  I, for one, also bought the religious themes in the film, and thought that they worked well in combination with the alien invasion premise.


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## Anthony G Williams (Mar 5, 2016)

This is my take on it, from my SFF blog:  http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/

I hadn't watched this film before, but *Signs* appeared on TV with a favourable review so I thought it was worth a look. It certainly has some cinematic firepower, with M. Night Shyamalan writing and directing (plus appearing in a minor role) and Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix heading the cast.

The story starts with the discovery of crop circles on a farm where Graham Hess (Gibson), his young son and daughter, plus younger brother Merrill (Phoenix), live together. There are also suggestions of something nasty lurking in the cornfield, the dog showing alarm and so forth, but nothing is seen. Graham, who we soon learn is a former priest who lost his faith when his wife was killed in a road accident and is now thoroughly sceptical, initially doesn't believe there is anything there. Meanwhile, the TV is showing films of lights in the night sky appearing over major cities.

The pace of the film is slow and deliberate, focusing on the atmosphere of growing menace and the confusion and, ultimately, terror of the family as their worst fears are realised. It is only relieved by a few moments of deadpan humour, particularly concerning tin-foil hats!

I found the second half of the film more disappointing than the first. It had seemed to be shaping up to be a psychological study of the nature of belief, in both religion and conspiracy theories, and the impact of this on an isolated group of people, while keeping the reality or otherwise of the threat uncertain. Handled differently, with the truth of the situation remaining unclear to the viewer, this could have been a landmark production. Instead, it turns into more of a routine horror film as the nasty aliens come into the open at last and besiege the family. Still worth seeing – once.


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## galanx (Mar 5, 2016)

I think discussion of this film should be in the "Worst Sci-Fi Movie of all time" thread.


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## BAYLOR (Mar 5, 2016)

Starts out very well and falls apart in the end.


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## Phyrebrat (Mar 6, 2016)

Once again I am at odds with the general opinion  

I watch it every couple of years I'd say. It's a beautifully crafted movie with some wonderful themes, and has some heart rending moments on the Human Condition. 

But what do I know; I'm the man that likes Jar Jar and doesn't understand the fuss over Fett. 

pH


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## Cathbad (Mar 6, 2016)

Phyrebrat said:


> Once again I am at odds with the general opinion
> 
> I watch it every couple of years I'd say. It's a beautifully crafted movie with some wonderful themes, and has some heart rending moments on the Human Condition.
> 
> ...


 
I'm with you:  I liked the movie... _and _Jar Jar!


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## BAYLOR (Mar 22, 2016)

I did like whole crop circles bit.


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## Anthony G Williams (Mar 22, 2016)

BAYLOR said:


> I did like whole crop circles bit.



I thought it was rather odd that aliens with the technology to travel to Earth needed to make marks on the ground for navigation! Never heard of GPS?


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## Nolan James (Apr 8, 2016)

It's funny reading old posts before this movie was made, and before Shyamalan was known as one of the worst directors of all time. This film probably the first in a long line of horrible movies from Shyamalan.


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## BAYLOR (May 7, 2016)

They could make it into a tv series.


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## Kerrybuchanan (Aug 15, 2016)

On the subject of crop circles, here's an elaborate one: Crop Circle at  Ansty, Nr Salisbury, Wiltshire. Reported 12th  August. 2016


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## Droflet (Aug 15, 2016)

So, finally we've been visited by aliens with an artistic bent.


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## Phyrebrat (Aug 15, 2016)

> *can accessed at Ansty PYO and Farm Shop for £5 which includes a beverage. Opening times Tuesday to Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm. - Sundays, Mondays 10:00am - 4:00pm.*


*

*
pH


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## Anthony G Williams (Aug 15, 2016)

Presumably it's become a lot easier to make complex crop circles since drones can now hover overhead to check their accuracy.


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## Kerrybuchanan (Aug 15, 2016)

Phyrebrat said:


> *
> *
> pH



I saw that too and had a quiet snigger.


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## BAYLOR (Aug 15, 2016)

Kerrybuchanan said:


> I saw that too and had a quiet snigger.



The film started out good .


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