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Signs is the kind of film
that if Hitchcock were to telepathically
view the picture, he would most likely
climb out of his grave and give a
standing ovation to Shyamalan's
more-than-accomplished edition to the
mystery and suspense field.
Signs could in the near future be the
one benchmark when critics are comparing
future flicks of the genre to.
This movie works superbly due to its
storytelling style, which all the thanks
and credit goes to the genius behind the
production, M. Night Shyamalan. The man
builds suspense like no other flick
before. Throughout the feature, you are
anticipating the unknown. What is the
unknown? That is for you as a viewer to
figure out as the pace draws near the
conclusion. You are like everyone within
the town Signs takes place in; you are
one of them; you don't know any more
than they do.
At times Signs feels as if Hitchcock is
right at Shyamalan's side as Night is
slowly creeping you through blind crop
fields at 10:00 at night. Does it matter
that it's Hitchcockian? Hell no! Signs
is a basic Hitchcock theme with
Shyamalan's way of telling the story
inserted in. And it works brilliantly.
You may find, walking out of the
theater, that much of what you adored to
pieces about this film goes back to the
direction and the atmosphere, which are
the roots leading of Shyamalan, among
other qualities.
I've used his name a lot so far, but M.
Night Shyamalan really creates an
awesome beginning. Starting with the
opening credits that already bring an
essence of "event" picture to your
experience in the room (much of it is
brought on by the musical score). While
an incredibly early screening, the
audience I had was extremely excited,
giving rounds of applause for various
credits, with the obvious Shyamalan
credit getting the biggest round of
cheers and claps.
The musical score in
Signs is also a treasure, even starting
with the opening credits piece which
adds to the "event" feeling. At times
the music appears a bit Psycho-ish in
theme, but always fits the moods and the
atmosphere perfectly without flaws. As
is with most of the film's qualities, it
was nearly flawless.
Next on the line is its cinematography,
which appeared as the writer/director's
biggest achievement to date. The camera
shots are amazing and many of which are
perfect for unexpected jumps or
suspense, if not just a marvel to gaze
at. And speaking of jumps, Signs offers
around 5 or 6 jolts of "holy sh*t!!!"
While I only managed to see one coming
and stop myself from jumping two feet,
the majority of these mandatory moments
are brilliant and very fun if seen with
a packed audience.
One of the things that
kept Signs from being a true masterpiece
for me was the acting. Mel Gibson gets
into his role very well but I just
didn't see anything special result.
Joaquin Phoenix as Gibson's brother
gives a strong performance as well, but
once again, is seen more as a great but
not superb delivery. Rory Culkin as
Gibson's son doesn't have the awesome
essence Haley Joel Osment offered in The
Sixth Sense, but the child can still
act. The young daughter, played by
Abigail Breslin as Bo, was also good.
An aspect that mainly
true film fans are likely to pick out,
Signs offers symbolism through the show
that is out of this world. If your eyes
start wandering and thinking beyond what
is front of you, your mind will have a
field day discovering all the little
details of the genius of Shyamalan that
many if not most folks who venture into
the film will probably not be aware of.
What made Signs a
surprising ride for me was that you will
be laughing just about as much as you
are getting scared to the bone at what
Shyamalan is supplying for you around
the corner. There is a ton of humor in
this bag and most of it is a very nice
relief, with some jokes or simply funny
moments receiving periods of applause
from my audience in attendance. For
Signs, comedy and horror make a
sparkling combination.
As for M. Night
Shyamalan himself, I have to say that
the writer/producer/director's
appearance in Signs was one of the most
believable performances in the game. But
that's not being said in a negative view
towards everything else. I won't reveal
what type of role he has, but the
filmmaker doesn't just have talent
behind the camera.
As for the ending,
Signs carries one of the coolest images
in the feature, along with my other
favorite image in the flick which takes
place in the very beginning. These are
images brought on by cinematography (or
without) that can stick with you for
days; creepy stuff. As for the ending
itself, I will not reveal anything but
to say that the minutes leading up to it
(roughly the last 15 or 20 minutes) are
quite the nail-biting experience. I dare
you not to start curling up in your seat
or taking the cup holder hostage with
your hand in apprehension. While I was
expecting the end result to be a bit
beefier, I was satisfied with what was
provided as the road leading up to it
was beyond awesome enough to declare
Signs a really special treat for fans of
the genre.
When compared to M.
Night Shyamalan's previous works, The
Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, Signs is
neither of the two flicks in nature but
far better in my theory. The new entry
is more of a Hitchcock theme wrapped up
in the imagination of Shyamalan with all
the extremely gifted qualities that he
is capable of.
Judging from the
reactions of the audience that attended,
results were extremely through the roof.
Any time there were suspenseful moments
where a jump was likely, one could feel
the anxiety in the room build as the
members in the room were anticipating
the unknown. There were even classic
moments where portions of the theater
were letting out uneasy laughter as we
all knew what Shyamalan could do to us
in the coming seconds with jolts of
surprise. The humor always saw laughs
spring up lively from the audience, and
some that led to various applause
moments. And adding to that, Signs
received a roaring applause (and cheers)
as the "an M. Night Shyamalan film" tag
appeared at the end.
With the premiere of
The Sixth Sense on ABC on Sunday, April
28, Disney unleashed the new trailer for
Signs. And I have to admit that I had
the chance to see this new preview
online for the first time prior to
heading over to the screening of Signs,
but avoided it, fearing any possible
spoilers involved. After viewing the
trailer afterwards, I give Disney full
kudos and props for creating yet another
powerhouse ad without giving away an
inch of detail! What you see in the
trailer does not do anything to your
experience, as much of that footage is
material in the first half.
I did not add this in
originally, and that is because the
effect did not show its face until hours
after the viewing. For some moviegoers
out there, Signs may have a truly
effective yet deeply hidden
psychological after effect. Walking out
I didn't feel anything on the matter,
but as the darkness grew further upon
the night and all was quiet, the
locked-inside-your-head images from some
of the scariest moments in the film
start popping up, allowing your
imagination to start playing away. It's
not guaranteed you will have an after
effect, but being as though it's been
twenty-five hours since I saw the film
as I'm writing this paragraph, the
effect has still not vanished from me.
On a side note (I had
not included this in the original
posting of this review), I have to add
that M. Night Shyamalan was at the
screening. Afterwards, after folks were
departing from the auditorium, my friend
happened to see him in the lobby talking
and headed over. I did not know why he
was heading over there, but when I drew
near, it donned on me. My friend shook
hands with Shyamalan, who was openly
available for quick chats with fans, and
the frustrating part of it for me was
that my moment to shake hands (I was but
three feet away from him and he even
looked at me for a few seconds)
disappeared too quickly. But hey, at
least I got to see the man from a few
feet's distance. You can't complain.
Signs is the kind of
film true fans of mystery and suspense
could likely flock to multiple times in
August. Hell, I just saw it Monday night
(4/29) and I can't wait to see it again.
It works superbly because it is a story
of the unknown, as you are anticipating
the mystery and trying to figure out
what it all means. When I was invited to
this screening last Thursday, I
literally flipped out, being as though
Signs was my biggest anticipation among
all the flicks coming out in the future.
Now having seen it, Signs is my biggest
anticipation among the same time period
just to get another round of the genius
involved. To fans of Shyamalan out
there, the filmmaker has created a
landmark film in the genre that should
be remembered for years to come.
Grade: A 1/4+ (not an A+
but close) |
