Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin, Rory Culkin, M. Night Shyamalan

After the death of his wife in a freak accident, Reverend Graham Hess questions his faith and even leaves the church. Six months later, he discovers a gigantic crop circle in his yard. Similar events ...( read more  read more... )happen all over the world. Graham's children think it's aliens, his brother thinks it's pranksters, and Graham doesn't know what to think. However, as more and more strange events occur, he realizes something big is coming, and it's probably not going to be friendly

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65% liked it

846,126 ratings

Critics

74% liked it

220 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Release Date: August 2, 2002

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DVD Release Date: January 7, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (41,021)


  • November 29, 2009
    Honestly this movie still stays a mystery to me.
  • November 23, 2009
    Like most of M. Night Shyamalan's films this one is loved by just as many people as it is hated. Reading some of the negative reviews this movie got here and among my friends I can only shake my head. People come with points of logic, calling it sci-fi, are being downright unfair...( read more) to this fantastic film about coincidence, believe and fate. Shyamalan tells the story of an alien invasion on the example of a small family that has hardly gotten over the loss of the beloved mother. How the story mixes suspense about the strange happenings in corn circles and on a baby phone with the feelings the family has to go through is already well crafted and often reminiscent of Hitchcock. How all these pieces finally come together in the showdown is pure genius. James Newton Howard delivers a wonderfully scary score, the acting is great and the camera work outstanding. The Brazil birthday video scene still makes the hair on my neck stand up. A masterpiece. I pity the people who don't get it.
  • November 22, 2009
    Gave this one a second chance, as many people questioned my judgement on this film, but my opinion remains, it?s a boring film!! I admit I really don?t have a mind for a lot of Sci-fi films, as much as I would not dispute the chance there could be intelligent lifeform out there,...( read more) seeing this film did nothing for me in the sense it did most people.
  • September 14, 2009
    I saw this in a cinema full of screaming young people. I think that atmosphere really added to my enjoyment of this film. I think it's really good in its creepy scenes, its only flaw is that you see the alien at the end.
  • August 11, 2009
    I love this ! Mel Gibson is great and I really did not know what exactly this film was about apart from aliens and crop circles. There is a lot hidden just beneath the surface but yet its very strange a paranormal. You have to be in the mood for aliens or else the end might freak...( read more) you out a bit. Although I recognised Joaquin Phoenix I did not twig his actual name. He is a good actor too.
  • February 3, 2010
    Great film. Shyamalan is the 21st Century Alfred Hitchcock. He's brilliant.
  • February 3, 2010
    unos marcianos vienen a un planeta que son 3/4 partes agua, y resulta que los vence uno echándoles un vaso de agua en la cara...no mamen
  • February 2, 2010
    every time i watch it again the more i enjoy it... which is weird... maybe i just can really understand all the work they put into it now that im older...
  • January 31, 2010
    for about a 1,000 years stories of beings from another world have been told to countless generations through writing and art. But the real question is is it true? Or is it all an elaborate hoax, a fairytale to put us to sleep at night or give us something to watch? Whether ...( read more)they are real or not has always been in question and truthfully we may never know the answer to our constant questions. But after almost 60 years of films that exploit and tell of alien invasion or aliens visiting our world and trying to offer us help but we instead out of fear try and destroy them, but no matter how you twist it or how you play it out on screen we will never know enough about them to fully understand and comprehend there intentions if they did come to our little world. M. Night Shyamalan's "Sings" does not exploit them or make them an instant enemy but instead slowly but surely let's you see the film's character's and you come to the conclusion of there hostility and does that make this film different from any other invasion film? No. But what makes it different and unique is the fact that you never really see the space craft's, you never see much of the aliens except for some scattered glances. It is a trick Shyamalan uses to build the tension until it finally explodes in the climax. It's not a slick exploitation or a cheap CGI fare with wall to wall action and violence, but what "Signs" is is an old school paranoiac Science Fiction thriller that boggles the mind and will leave you breathless.




    "Sings" is not like allot of Science Fiction films these days as most today try and build upon non-stop action sequences, flimsy plot's and scripts and horrible acting and dialogue. But while some of them are good intentioned they don't impress or wow modern audience, modern audiences want Science fiction that can please, wow and while doing that capture your imagination. M. Night Shyamalan's "Sings" does just that it pleases you, wow's you and captures your imagination and your heart as an added bonus, Shyamalan does not just make movies that thrill you and give you the chills he also puts deep rooted emotion and very memorable characters in all his films, but is that the main reason for "Signs" success? Or is it because this film has such a draw and naturally and creepy appeal to it? the answer to both questions is yes. But that is my answer to how I felt about "Signs" the answer to the questions I offered or any question you may come up with are for you and you alone to answer. The truths about aliens is a very mysterious and elusive question that we may never get an answer to, but "Signs" attempts to give us a few answers to our questions now the real question is what do you believe?




    Mel Gibson turns in a great emotional performance as the head of the Hess family,Graham Hess what makes Gibson so perfect for this role is that he has the right attitude and style to play a character like this. Gibson doesn't hold back on the audience he let's it all out, he cries, he acts corny, he acts serious, he acts scared etc. If you can name it Gibson puts it out there on the screen for you to see. But Gibson isn't the only player that gives you one amazing show a young Abigail Breslin is a huge contender for Gibson, Breslin shows even at such a young age that she had tremendous talent and skill and puts on a great show making her one of the heavy hitters in this isolated Sci-Fi masterpiece. While Joaquin Phoenix and Rory Culkin are good and try hard but come out a little flat and bland but they can be easily overlooked by the interplay between all the other cast members which helps turn it from average to great.



    M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" may not impress many and it may leave others feeling like they've been robbed of the huge and explosive Sci-Fi thriller they came for and if you think that then you have truly missed the point. This film is not simply a Sci-Fi thriller it is also an emotionally wrenching drama a look at family in the midst of loss and how they come together to fight a mysterious force from another world. "Signs" is a feverish paranoiac thriller ride that doesn't seem to let up from the ominous opening to the heartfelt and startling finale, it delivers on the fears of all families and people across the world with it's tale of doom in small town America.
  • January 31, 2010
    The ending was stupid. But the rest of the movie was fine.

Critic Reviews


August 2, 2002
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

It's a smart, skillful movie from a writer-director who's only 31 years old, but already a master of blending the chills of fright with the warmth of love. full review

August 2, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Turns out to have few thoughts and no thrills. full review

August 2, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The work of a born filmmaker, able to summon apprehension out of thin air. full review

August 2, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The problem is that Signs manages to be both so terribly serious and so unimportant at the same time. full review

August 1, 2002
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Skillful as he is, Mr. Shyamalan is undone by his pretensions. full review

August 1, 2002
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Unlike the lumbering and portentous Unbreakable, Shyamalan's Signs is a satisfyingly taut suspenser. full review

August 1, 2002
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

[Shyamalan] turns the goose-pimple genre on its empty head and fills it with spirit, purpose and emotionally bruised characters who add up to more than body count. full review

View more Signs reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • CallumSanderson
    October 19, 2008
    One of the creepiest atmosphereic films ever created. everything from the filming location, the acting, the interferonce and the part when they are down in the basement... and of course the aliens
  • always182
    January 2, 2008
    i watched scary movie 3 first so i couldnt take this movie in a sirious way. the time i mostely laugh was when they put the hats on!! it was helerious!!
    :)
  • TreborYollom
    August 20, 2007
    one of my favourite films,its savage
  • MrsJackHarkenss
    June 17, 2007
    I loved it. The first time my family and i watched it when the phone rang in the movie ours did too, it was sorta creepy but cool at the same time.
  • gabrielhortencio
    January 4, 2007
    "Os Sinais", olha só.. do ladinho na nossa cidade Carazinho-RS.. HEuaheuAHeA, nossa que meeeedo :S
    é muito bom esse filme.. tem muitas vezes de susto!
  • lilbuhlem1013
    August 17, 2006
    OMG.............SO SCARY!! right christen???
    lol
  • ashlisa424
    June 12, 2006
    A very good scary movie!

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Signs Trivia


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