Signs [VHS] [2002]

Graham Hess is the widowed Pennsylvania farmer who lives in a remote farm along with his two young children and his younger brother, Merrill. Very early one morning both Graham and Merrill are awoken from their beds to find both children wandering around in the field of corn by their house. Investigating further Graham finds a series of huge crop circles decorating his land. The national news is reporting other sightings of such crop circles, mostly in India, and when UFOs are spotted and filmed in Mexico fears and suspicions start to build.

The strange goings on continue around the Hess farm, the dogs bark and turn nasty, Graham’s daughter Bo finds the water tastes strange and his son, Morgan seems to be far too well informed on aliens and methods to stop them reading our minds! When actual sightings of aliens are not only being reported but also being experienced by Graham we know that this dedicated and honourable man will do all in his power to defend his family.

As I say it’s a most strange film to classify because it’s not really a horror and neither is it a true thriller, and yet it has some of the best tension building scenes I’ve ever seen. There are several leap out of your seat moments and also scenes when nothing actually happens and yet you find yourself hiding behind a cushion.

The performances are more solid than breathtaking, Mel Gibson is quite strangely cast as the rather reticent Graham Hess but he’s given great support by Joaquin Phoenix as Merrill and the two children, Rory Culkin & Abigail Breslin are both charming and extremely competent actors.

The film isn’t perfect though, I question the effectiveness of the sub-plot concerning Graham’s wife and also the fact he is a lapsed priest. Whilst the two factors were interesting, I felt they served more to detract than add to the plot and tension. It’s also one of those films where you find yourself think that had it been made with a complete cast of no-bodies it may well have ended up as “the surprise hit of the season!” Instead it’s sort of become one of Mel Gibson’s lesser known films.

Mind you it’s still an excellently effective piece of film work and I would recommend all to watch this.

Signs deals with the question of life beyond that which exists on Earth, both physically (represented in form of the aliens) and metaphysically (represented by Hess's crisis of faith and whether there is someone up there looking out for us).

The film worked best before the aliens were seen (althought the footage of the Brazilian birthday party scared me half to death), and the tension was built up well. I thought Gibson and Phoenix were excellent, and the children were portrayed well.

I don't have a problem with the alien's not knowing how to open doors, or indeed not having anticipated problems with water. Nothing is shown of the interiors of the alien crafts nor of their homeworlds, deliberately I believe. We simply don't know the capabilities of the aliens.

I do however have a problem with being patronised by the flash backs to earlier parts of the film - when Hess realises where he has seen the alien in his house before etc. It worked well in Sixth Sense, where is was an appropriate device, but was out of place here. I think the director needs to give his viewers slightly more credit than that!

The religious element was dealt with poorly, and it seemed that Hess's dilemma was 2 dimensional. Also I've never heard of non-Catholic clergy being referred to as Father. Just a thought.

The ending was a bit "Hollywood", which was a shame, and it was unsatisfying in so much as there was no explanation for why the aliens came or why they left. But that is exactly what redeems it above run of the mill sci-fi thrillers.

Makes you think, makes you shake your head, but all in all not a waste of an evening.