I was going off the fact that it was Shyamalan taking on a very peculiar subject. And at the time of seeing Signs, I wasn't all that sure about what the movie was about given that the first two teasers had said very little. This allowed for the experience of seeing the movie to be quite genuine, as I did not have the knowledge (for the most part) moviegoers had walking in on August 2. As time grew toward opening day, a large group of filmgoers understood that this was an alien invasion thriller/horror film. When the audience I was part of walked into the screening, we didn't have that awareness because at that time there was no solid buzz on the specifics surrounding Signs.

So watching the film unfold, part of my crowd's journey involved figuring out what the storyline really was. By late July, magazines and whatnot had given a relatively clear picture as to what moviegoers would be watching; a creepy alien invasion dealing with crop circles. Having knowing what the movie is about takes away from the experience, as you already have that factor figured out going in; I didn't. As I exited my August 2 show, I had questioned my quote of Signs being a nearly masterpiece in the genre of mystery and suspense, as really, isn't it a thriller/horror film? So theoretically, shouldn't I have said it was one of the scariest films I've seen or to some extent?

It later donned on me that at the time of the original April showing, watching Signs was more of a mystery/suspense adventure as we didn't have any real idea what was happening. By opening day, every media outlet had pretty clearly mapped out what Signs was all about to a certain degree. Not understanding the basics of Signs (plotline) creates the suspense, as you don't have any info regarding the details which has your viewing become more of a unique experience. In my situation, you were trying to logically examine what you were given and figure out where it was headed with its story. Part of that journey had been answered within its buzz that crawled up closer to its debut, which again, downgrades the overall mystery feel and once again - something that hadn't happened at my show.

Seeing Signs was a truly remarkable experience, as my hype surrounding the film was sky-high, yet it was probably the fact that I knew really nothing about what it was in detail that drove my liking the film at the top of the chart. The down factor for many moviegoers and the basic factor of "hype" is that once you read the reviews and magazine articles etc, you already knew more than what I did walking in. I didn't have the knowledge that Signs was going to be downright scary, as there was nothing obvious that pointed toward that even with the teaser trailers. Once you grow knowledge of others' opinions on the film, it's extremely easy for those to be cemented into your mind as you watch Signs on the big-screen, evaluating whether or not you agree or disagree. I simply walked into the theater with my own hype given the situation I had, which as corny as it sounds, I see as a payback for myself having walked into The Sixth Sense with the twist revealed to myself the day of my show by someone who thought the idea to spoil was hilarious.

Even returning to Signs for my second viewing (first one after the preview screening) opening weekend, I was glued to the screen. And really, I later speculated whether or not it was just me trying to see what was still there (in terms of scenes) and whatnot, and think that it was the basic element of its storytelling and various issues I did not notice the first time that catapulted my liking of Signs even more than I did originally. Walking out of the second screening, I realized that I originally had part of the ending to Signs wrong and that wasn't due to changes in production, but simply, not putting the pieces together properly. And while I recognized the second time that it wasn't very hard to put together those pieces, I believe it was the sole idea that first time of seeing it with very vague info, your mind was racing with ideas the entire time, allowing yourself to miss certain factors because your brain, eyes and ears can only pick up so much in one sitting. And adding to that, going back to my original point - at the time of seeing Signs, my audience had barely any education to the details behind the M. Night Shyamalan film. So in a way, we were trying to see what the roots of the story were at the same time as analyzing every detail when audiences across America knew part of that opening day.

So when you wonder how I could enjoy a film like Signs so much when others are claiming it is a standard alien invasion movie with a simple theme, some movies can be drastically different experiences when you walk in blind.