Signs

Aliens invading the planet? It's not like they didn't warn us. Here's our review of Signs on DVD - is it worth your cash?

As Aliens mysteriously invade the world, 'SIGNS' is the story of a family on a farm, dealing with many different emotions while facing the reality of the terrifying events, and trying to prepare for what could be their final moments of life.

Written, Produced and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the writer/director of 'Unbreakable' and 'The Sixth Sense'-So you know it'll be something worth looking into! The story of 'SiGNS' takes place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with a family known as the Hess family. Mel Gibson plays as Graham Hess, a widower and former Reverend who lost his faith after his wife died a few months ago in a tragic accident. Since losing both his wife and his faith, he's asked people to stop calling him "Father", even though for them it's a hard habit to break. Graham lives on a big farm with his two young children Bo and Morgan. Also living on the farm with them is Graham's younger brother Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix.

One morning the Hess family awakens to find giant crop circles carved perfectly in their cornfields. Soon after finding the crop circles, strange things start happening around town. The beloved family dog tries to attack Graham's daughter, Bo. Graham starts to hear strange sounds and sees a strange humanoid-shaped figure outside his window one night.

At first dismissing the giant crop circles and humanoid-figure as possibly being pranks, they remained unaware of the horror that awaited them. What they initially thought were pranks from some of the townsfolks were no longer such as the next day they watched the TV news reports of crop circles being discovered in other places around the world like India.

And thanks to the friendly suggestion of a police officer to Graham's son, Morgan, about using a baby monitor as a one way walkie-talkie, Morgan uses Bo's old baby monitor and is able to pick up strange non-distinct noises and voices that he and his sister believe could be some form of communication between the alien beings, something Graham and Merrill don't really buy into right away.

Later, Graham hears similar noises around the cornfield and catches a brief glimpse of something disappearing into the cornfield. The bizarre events continue on as later, while watching the news, the Hess family sees live feed of unidentified flying objects hovering over Mexico City.

They struggle to come to grips with the bizarre events occurring while dealing with their own problems within the family, particularly with Graham, who's lack of faith not only affects himself but the rest of his family as well. Morgan, Bo and Merrill are all upset by the change in Graham and try to understand who he is and what has happened to their beloved father/brother who once had so much faith.

As more time passes, strange things happen that suggest the possibility that aliens maybe preparing for an invasion. With indications of aliens already present in their area, the Hess family's problems are just beginning.

With the feeling of high alert, Graham does what he can to protect his family as best he can while continuously grappling with his own faith issues.

When I first saw 'Signs' I honestly wasn't too fond of Mel Gibson's portrayal of Graham Hess. Initially, Graham seemed a bit too aloof and clueless to me, a character without much personality. I was wrong and happy about it. During my second viewing I saw Graham in a different light. He was a very caring father and older brother; he was more lively and aware than I originally thought him to be with his own unique personality and charm. I thought Mel Gibson did an ace job with the character and the many emotions he had to go through, especially in the sad scenes, which he pulled off quite well.

Since first seeing the movie I loved the characters of Morgan and Bo. Very charming and cute kids who provided some comedic moments in the film, especially with their own home brewed method of trying to thwart the aliens.

I also liked Graham's brother Merrill, A pretty cool person who seemed to have his head on straight (Guess one of the adults there should). Even M. Night Shamalayan plays a role in the movie as Ray Reddy, the unfortunate soul carrying the burden of guilt of being the one who accidentally killed Graham's wife. Shamalayan's screen times are brief but played well.

Accompanying the already creepy and suspenseful mood of the movie was a very nice orchestrated score played by a 100-member orchestra. The music ranged from suspenseful to downright creepy at times, and along with the sound effects gave the movie's atmosphere some thrilling and creepy overtones at times. Being a fan of game and movie soundtracks I must say it was a very well done score and I look forward to picking up the soundtrack CD as soon as I can.

In the end I must say that I loved 'SIGNS'. Even though it took me more than one viewing to really appreciate it for what it tried to do, the bottom line is that I still very much enjoyed it.

Probably the best thing about 'SIGNS' is its overall ominous atmosphere. Being the suspenseful thriller that it is, there are some creepy moments in the movie when you never know what's going to jump out at any time, keeping viewers either at the edge of their seats or hiding underneath the covers.

The high point of the movie to me was the final confrontation against one of the Aliens highlighted by a wonderful orchestral score, I must've rewound that scene fifteen times in one sitting, enjoying both the music and the action. When all was said and done we were 'rewarded' with probably one of the shortest ending sequences in movie history. But even so, I thought it worked rather well.

When you're done with the movie, there are some added bonus features on the disc to help you dive further into the world of SIGNS. Fans of feature-length commentary tracks will be disappointed to know that there are none in this movie. But the bonus features more than make up for it as you are taken on a tour through all of the elements that brought the movie together.

Joseph Jackson
DVD Reviewer, Kikizo Movies