Signs (2002)

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

2 August 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It's Not Like They Didn't Warn Us.

Plot:

A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

Plot Keywords:

Crop Circle | Farm | Pennsylvania | Water | Alien

Awards:

2 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Rev. Graham Hess
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Merrill Hess
Rory Culkin	...	Morgan Hess
Abigail Breslin	...	Bo Hess
Cherry Jones	...	Officer Paski
M. Night Shyamalan	...	Ray Reddy
Patricia Kalember	...	Colleen Hess
Ted Sutton	...	SFC Cunningham
Merritt Wever	...	Tracey Abernathy, the Pharmacist
Lanny Flaherty	...	Mr. Nathan
Marion McCorry	...	Mrs. Nathan
Michael Showalter	...	Lionel Prichard
Kevin Pires	...	Brazilian Birthday Boy
Clifford David	...	Columbia University Professor
Rhonda Overby	...	Sarah Hughes

Also Known As:

M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some frightening moments.

Runtime:

106 min | Spain:108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Germany:12 (f) | Japan:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:14 | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Ireland:12 (video rating) | Ireland:15PG (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39105) | Venezuela:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [M. Night Shyamalan] [things reflected on television screens].

Goofs:

Factual errors: The man on the poster in the U.S. Army recruiting office is wearing a U.S. Marine Corps uniform.

Quotes:

Morgan: We have to tape this.
[he gets a tape, but Bo grabs it and hugs it to her]
Bo: My ballet recital!
Morgan: Listen, Bo. This is very important. Everything people have written about in science books is going to change. The history of the world's future is on the TV right now. We need to record this so you can show *your* children this tape and say *you* were there. For your children, Bo.
Bo: My ballet recital!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

One of the best movies of 2002 so far

A scary-looking monster is not needed in this movie. Just simply the fear of the unknown is enough. But just in case that's not enough for YOU, you will also get creepy sounds & very frightening situations. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that some of the stuff that is on the news on the TV in the movie is some of the scariest material in the movie. While all the things on the news in this movie are pretty freaky, there is one news clip in particular that I think really scared mostly everyone (maybe everyone) in the audience. So basically, don't go to this movie expecting to see a bunch of man-killing freaky-looking aliens. If you want something like that, rent "Alien".

All of the actors in this movie do a terrific job. The kids were great, which was unexpected for me. And as for the director...well, M. Night Shyamalan is a genius. He is the Alfred Hithcock of our time (note that he is nowhere as even remotely great as Hitchcock, I was just saying for our time). And he is now one of my favorite directors. With "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs", he manages to make movies that can truly terrify the audience, and he doesn't use blood & gore, he uses suspense and just simple horror. They are both only rated PG-13, and are both real crowd-scarers, which tells you this guy is really something.

To sum it up: This is one of VERY VERY few movies that had me laughing out loud one minute, and then jumping out of my seat in shock the next. Lots of laughs, great acting, awesome directing, truly terrifying material, shock value, all the suspense you can handle and then some, what more do you want from a movie? Little kids saying the darndest things? Excellent character build-up? Drama? Well you get all of those too. "Signs" is one of the best movies of 2002 so far.