Signs

2002
PG-13
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

395K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:35

Alien Invasion Drama Mystery Sci-Fi Thriller

A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

395K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

371

177

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 34 nominations

Trivia
Joaquin Phoenix replaced Mark Ruffalo, who had to pull out of the film due to a brain tumor. It was later found to be benign.

Goofs
They nail boards on the outside of inward-opening doors. Obviously this isn't going to prevent the doors from being opened, but anything is better than nothing and they're panicking anyway. Moreover, when Merrill asks Graham how they will know if boarding the windows will work, Graham replies, "Because they seem to have trouble with pantry doors". Graham is implying that if the aliens have trouble with pantry doors, boarding them can only help. Doing so also may give everyone, especially the children, a sense of hope and/or security.

Quotes
Graham Hess: People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?

Crazy credits
The end credits are black text that rolls over a black screen with a illuminated blue circle in the middle, instead of the traditional white text on a flat black background.

Alternate versions
There is actually an alternative version of this movie, which had different noises for the aliens, prior to release. The noises did not make into the final product. The aliens sounded more demonic than the mostly (although equally scary) alien noises they ended up having. It alone could have gotten the movie an R on the basis of "terror" alone. It was mostly edited out to keep the movie from being too dark, although some of the things about the aliens were demonic, and kept in the movie. "Signs" got away with a lot for a PG-13 movie. To find them, via the comments, go to the Youtube video to the "Signs" trailer, courtesy of user Rob Jackson (the Rotten Videos group's copy of the video; just type "Signs 2002 trailer Rotten Videos," and look for Rob Jackson's comments, they have the links to some of the clips from that version; courtesy of user Kaylin Starlight).

Connections
Edited into Signs: Deleted Scenes (2003)

User reviews2.5K

Review

Featured review

underrated film

I don't think this film deserved the poor reviews that some gave it. I've only seen 3 of Night Shylaman's films (6th Sense, Unbreakable) and this one is the most sophisticated in my mind in terms of the director manipulating the viewers into seeing and believing what he wants you to believe.

This is not Gibson's worst film by any means. If anything he gets to try to portray an understated, confused, and emotionally scarred character and I think he soft-sells it very well. Joaquin Phoenix also has a similar character to play and he too soft-sells it well. That was probably not an accident as their calm, sullen personalities contrast with the unbearable situation they find themselves in.

If you haven't already, see it - and keep an open mind.

J_Charles
Jul 27, 2005
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