Signs (2002)

With the release of a new M. Night Shyamalan film in the last couple of years (Old, which I haven't seen yet) I thought it appropriate to look back and attempt to fill in any gaps from his filmology that I considered worthy. Shyamalan very much splits opinion these days (pun intended) Unbreakable (2000) is still my favourite of his, closely followed by The Sixth Sense (1999) which I had the fortune to watch without knowing 'the twist'. I haven't seen much of his recent oeuvre if I'm honest, the things I've heard about Lady In The Water (2006) and The Visit (2015) weren't particularly complementary. But I am very much a defender of The Village (2004), so as I hadn't seen Signs, and it seemed to come in a period of his filmmaking that I very much enjoyed, that seemed like the one to go for. And I enjoyed it. It's a very interesting film tonally, it does sort of fit into Shyamalan's bill of psychological thriller as well as throwing bits of sci-fi into the mix. After he discovers strange crop circles on his farmland, former Reverend Graham (Mel Gibson) tries to figure out what's going on, whilst trying to maintain the safety of his family. Gibson is imposing as Graham, he offers so much through just his eyes, and really is the stalwart of the film. There's odd moments of comedy throughout that feel off kilter with the crux of the story, but this may well be on show to increase the sense of abnormality and confusion of what is going on. And what is going on is best left unsaid. The ending isn't quite enough to hold the film together, and it certainly isn't as unsettling as Unbreakable, or as impressive as The Sixth Sense, but it sat aside The Village in terms of implementing an idea and attempting to carry it through to its conclusion. Whether Shyamalan has done enough is very much down to a personal preference here. 6.8/10