History Film / Signs

** The pig-like chirping squeal noise Graham hears briefly when he's searching through his cornfield and [[spoiler: suddenly the alien's leg moves.]]

* WreckedWeapon: [[spoiler:When Merrill lands his finishing blow on the alien to knock it into the water glasses, he ends up hitting it so hard that it breaks the bat in half.]]

* {{Chiaroscuro}}

* CrisisOfFaith: Graham is a priest who lost his wife, which killed his faith in God. [[spoiler: It's restored by the end of the invasion.]]

''Signs'' is notable for being the last of Shyamalan's films to have a generally positive reception before his reputation as a filmmaker began to decline following the release of his next film, ''Film/TheVillage''. The film can also be interpreted as something of a spiritual successor to his previous efforts ''Film/TheSixthSense'' and ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'', being a similarly dark and introspective family drama that presents an unconventional take on a popular genre of speculative fiction by largely eschewing flashy action in favor of thematic exploration and character studies. After putting a new spin on [[GhostStory ghost stories]] and {{superhero}}es, ''Signs'' completes the trifecta by tackling [[AlienInvasion alien invasions]].

In a unique spin on this premise, however, the events that follow are told entirely from the perspective of the Hesses as they attempt to survive the invasion while hiding out on their remote farm. Instead of prioritizing action set-pieces, ''Signs'' mainly focuses on the sheer terror of an ordinary family caught in the path of an attack by bizarre creatures that they don't understand. This suspense is aided by Shyamalan's direction embracing a [[NothingIsScarier "less is more"]] approach in its depiction of the aliens, keeping details about their appearance and background minimal (with scenes of mass pandemonium left entirely unseen) and never showing them using any sort of advanced technology apart from their spaceships[[note]]which are permanently [[StealthInSpace rendered invisible with cloaking devices]][[/note]], making them come across more like ''monsters'' than traditional alien invaders. At heart, the film is essentially a drama about a widowed father's spiritual crisis as he struggles to interpret a series of enigmatic [[TitleDrop signs]] from above, inspiring him to question whether life has an inherent meaning and purpose.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[{{Tagline}} It's happening]]. ...no, not ''that'' [[Film/TheHappening Happening]].]]

->''"So what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you. Are you the kind that sees signs, 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?"''

A 2002 film, written and directed by Creator/MNightShyamalan, starring Creator/MelGibson and Creator/JoaquinPhoenix.

The story focuses on the Hess family: faithless former preacher Graham (Gibson), his asthmatic son Morgan (Rory Culkin), his ostensibly autistic daughter Bo (Creator/AbigailBreslin), and his ne'er-do-well younger brother Merrill (Phoenix), a former baseball player. A few short months after the accidental death of his wife, a newly widowed Graham struggles to raise his children with Merrill's help, while also grappling with his newly shaken faith in {{God}}. Having abandoned the priesthood following his wife's death, Graham now lives as a simple farmer in rural Pennsylvania. One day, however, the Hess family's quiet life is shattered by news of a bizarre series of events: crop circles are appearing around the world, radios are picking up strange signals from space, and multiple witnesses report sightings of unearthly creatures. In the ensuing weeks, the people of the world gradually realize that Earth has been targeted by invaders from another world, and advance agents are stealthily infiltrating human civilization as a precursor to all-out invasion.

In a unique twist, however, the ensuing AlienInvasion story is told entirely from the perspective of the Hesses as they attempt to survive the invasion while hiding out on their remote farm. Apart from a single fight scene, there's virtually no action, with the story instead focusing on the sheer panic and terror of an ordinary family caught in the path of an attack by bizarre creatures that they don't understand. To make the story as tense and suspenseful as possible, Shyamalan's direction proudly embraces NothingIsScarier: we only get a few brief glimpses of the aliens, we learn virtually nothing about them (or their motivations), and most of the information about the invasion is relayed via brief snippets of news broadcasts from the Hesses' television (with scenes of mass pandemonium left entirely unseen).

In another departure from conventional alien invasion narratives: the aliens are never shown to use any sort of advanced technology apart from their spaceships (which are permanently [[StealthInSpace rendered invisible with cloaking devices]]), making them come across more like ''monsters'' than traditional alien invaders. At heart, the film is essentially a drama about a widowed father's spiritual crisis as he struggles to interpret a series of enigmatic [[TitleDrop signs]] from above, inspiring him to question whether life has an inherent meaning and purpose.

Notable for being the last of M. Night Shyamalan's films to receive widespread critical acclaim before his reputation as a filmmaker began to decline following the release of ''Film/TheVillage'', it's something of a spiritual successor to his previous efforts ''Film/TheSixthSense'' and ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'', being a similarly dark and introspective family drama that presents a uniquely unconventional take on a popular genre of speculative fiction. After putting a new spin on [[GhostStory ghost stories]] and {{superhero}}es, ''Signs'' completes the trifecta by tackling [[AlienInvasion alien invasions]]. Like its two predecessors, the film largely eschews flashy action and {{spectacle}} in favor of using the premise as a vehicle for thematic exploration and character studies.

In a unique twist, however, the ensuing AlienInvasion story is told entirely from the perspective of the Hesses as they attempt to survive the invasion while hiding out on their remote farm. Apart from a single fight scene, there's virtually no action, with the story instead focusing on the sheer panic and terror of an ordinary family caught in the path of an attack by bizarre creatures that they don't understand. To make the story as tense and suspenseful as possible, Shyamalan's direction proudly embraces NothingIsScarier: we only get a few brief glimpses of the aliens, we learn virtually nothing about them (or their motivations), and most of the information about the invasion is relayed via brief snippets of news broadcasts from the Hesses' television (with scenes of mass pandemonium left entirely unseen). At heart, the film is essentially a drama about a widowed father's spiritual crisis as he struggles to interpret a series of enigmatic [[TitleDrop signs]] from above, inspiring him to question whether life has an inherent meaning and purpose.

* ArtisticLicenseTraditionalChristianity: Graham was an Episcopal priest. It's a branch of Christianity with a lot of similarities with Catholicism, but the Confessional isn't one of them. DownPlayed, because it's not called confession, just "clearing my conscience" and Tracey may not have known the difference.

A 2002 film, written and directed by Creator/MNightShyamalan, starring Creator/MelGibson and Creator/JoaquinPhoenix. Weird things start happening all over the globe. Strange sightings of unearthly creatures, {{crop circles}}, and other unexplained phenomena start occurring.

The story focuses on the Hess family, consisting of a faithless former preacher, Graham (Gibson), his asthmatic son, Morgan (Rory Culkin), his ostensibly autistic daughter, Bo (Creator/AbigailBreslin) and his ne'er do well younger brother, Merrill (Phoenix), who live in a podunk farmland community. Like the rest of the world, they start thinking that it's an AlienInvasion being done as a stealth infiltration. The entire story is told through this farming family in Pennsylvania as they watch the paranoia grip the world through their television set. Of course, since an off-screen repulsion isn't too dramatic, there's still a fight scene. Oh, and there's a lot of [[{{Anvilicious}} incredibly blunt]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic religious symbolism]], with the story serving more as a story about a man finding his faith in God again as the "signs" start to coalesce.

** This is actually lampshaded: when Graham announces they're going to board the windows shut, he's asked how he thinks this will work. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic famously had a field day with this one.
---> "Because they seem to have trouble with pantry doors."

* AdultFear: there's something in Graham's farm menacing him and his family. He tries to board up all the windows and doors in his house to repel the invaders, but they find a way in through the attic. In the midst of this crisis, his son has an asthma attack and nearly suffocates until Graham can calm him down. Then when they think the coast is clear, one of the creatures - who he accidentally maimed - has his unconscious son in his arms, and is preparing to poison him.

* StupidEvil: The {{Epic Fail}}ing aliens. Despite their technological superiority - they choose to just LeeroyJenkins a planet that's KryptoniteIsEverywhere to them.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: The aliens themselves. They decide to attack a planet whose surface is more than 50 percent water. [[spoiler:Guess what their weakness is?]]

** The fact they can't even open a damn ''door''. Who knows, maybe they ''have'' become terribly reliant on technological, sliding doors, but all it takes is a basic understanding of levers! Especially given that a wide range of not particularly intelligent Earth animals can work out how to open doors (cats, dogs, etc.)

* InsufficientlyAdvancedAlien: See IdiotBall, also they can't open an unlocked door.

* StupidEvil: The {{Epic Fail}}ing aliens. Despite their technological superiority - they choose to just LeeroyJenkins a planet that's KryptoniteIsEverywhere to them, and they somehow can't even bypass a basic door.

** This is actually lampshaded: when Graham announces they're going to board the windows shut, he's asked how he thinks this will work.

* CamouflageChameleon: the aliens have skin that changes patterns to mimic theur surroundings It is detailed enough that it can mimic faces of people standing in front of them on their back.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The aliens are capable of mastering space travel and being undetectable until planetary approach... yet they lack the intelligence to bring equipment for their "takeover", they seem to have difficulty getting past wooden doors, AND went on a planet that is 71% coated in their number one weakness, ignoring what is present in the atmosphere. This is all important as basic problem-solving is a sign of intelligence, which the aliens SHOULD possess to traverse space but evidently lack in terms of common sense and strategy 101.
** This isn't really an issue with biology, but strategy. It also ignores that the movie states outright at the end that this wasn't an invasion, it was a mass abduction.
** For that matter... what are they bleeding when the water dissolves them? While not all liquids are H[[subscript:2]]O-based, a very large number that can viably exist in a liquid state are.

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: The film reveals that the aliens can only be destroyed by water, as it seems to dissolve them. The problem is that water is NOT naturally acidic or reactive. Water is actually extremely nonreactive unless either rapidly heated, or in contact with an alkali metal: neither of these conditions are met and even if they were, it would result in a more explosive reaction... NOT AN ACIDIC ONE!
** Pure water is pH-neutral, but drinking water from a tap is anything but pure, and is generally slightly towards the acid end of the pH spectrum, as is human skin (and, really, most lifeforms on Earth). The aliens may well be from a planet where everything is shifted toward the alkaline rather than mildly acidic, and so the weak acid of tap water would react exothermically with their skin to form a salt. Though, really, that reaction would still be pretty mild and more likely to cause minor irritation than anything as severe as shown.
** Upon reflection, this trope may actually be somewhat averted as, with all of the symbolism surrounding the aliens, there is a case of AlternateCharacterInterpretation in addition to an AmbiguousSituation as to whether or not these, "aliens," are in fact just demons in disguise. Therefore, if this is indeed the case, water being used against them would make a lot more sense.

* BasedOnATrueStory or BasedOnAGreatBigLie: While the story doesn't cite itself as such, there are a large number of similarities between ''Signs'' and the "Hopkinsville Goblins" event in 1955. It's quite possible Shyamalan drew on it for inspiration... whether it's a true story or a hoax is largely immaterial to the movie.

* InfantImmortality: Morgan almost succumbs to a severe asthma attack, but survives.

* AliensAreBastards: It is an AlienInvasion movie, after all.

** They did a good job of making this seem more like a horror movie. The trailers and teasers almost all had no references to aliens (except for two of them) - the TV spots, moreso than the trailers, makes this seem more like a horror movie. Although this is crop circles, but going by the trailer, one can deduce that monsters with magical powers did them.