Seeing "Signs" during its premiere weekend in a sold-out theater, was a pretty powerful movie going experience.
It’s a well made, suspenseful film about an alien invasion, experienced by a family living on a rural farm in Pennsylvania. Mel Gibson plays the father who has recently lost his wife in a car accident, so his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) has moved in to help him out with the farm work and taking care of his two young children. (There’s a nice redemption arc involved in the story: the father used to be a priest, but after his wife’s death, lost his faith in god. Due to certain occurrences, he rediscovers that there is a higher power after all.
The frightening atmosphere was quite cleverly built up, bit by bit. I have rarely seen such a collective gasp of horror let out by the audience, for example when Mel catches a glimpse of an alien in the cornfield, or when one is later fully revealed during a children’s birthday party. (Also, it was one of the few occasions in my experience, where the viewers spontaneously clapped at the end of the movie.)
I remember there being some critiques about the script: for instance, some wondered that if the aliens’ weak spot was water (they ”dissolved” when they came in contact with it), why on earth (pun intended!) did they then try to take over a planet that has it in plentiful amounts?
I always thought that it was just an example of ”suspension of disbelief” and didn’t let it ruin an otherwise absorbing film.
I watch Dave Cullen’s youtube channel from time to time, and in a current video, he happened to talk about Signs, and how the film could be interpreted differently: the villains are not necessarily aliens, but rather they could be seen as demons.
It makes sense in a way, and viewed like this, it might actually improve the movie. As an example, the younger child thinks that the water in the house is ”contaminated” and leaves glassfuls of it around the house. She also seems to be able to see into the future, like her mother. Apparently, she has additional supernatural abilities, and inadvertently blesses the glasses of water, making them ”holy water", which they use to kill the alien/demon left inside their house.
If you took this theory further, the alien/demon element could also be looked at from a hyperdimensional point of view: the 4D STS forces presented themselves as fairies and other other-worldly entities in the old times; nowadays aliens seem to be the preferred manifestation.
Anyways, it’s a good movie worth watching, and I thought this alternate take put a new spin on it!
It’s a well made, suspenseful film about an alien invasion, experienced by a family living on a rural farm in Pennsylvania. Mel Gibson plays the father who has recently lost his wife in a car accident, so his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) has moved in to help him out with the farm work and taking care of his two young children. (There’s a nice redemption arc involved in the story: the father used to be a priest, but after his wife’s death, lost his faith in god. Due to certain occurrences, he rediscovers that there is a higher power after all.
The frightening atmosphere was quite cleverly built up, bit by bit. I have rarely seen such a collective gasp of horror let out by the audience, for example when Mel catches a glimpse of an alien in the cornfield, or when one is later fully revealed during a children’s birthday party. (Also, it was one of the few occasions in my experience, where the viewers spontaneously clapped at the end of the movie.)
I remember there being some critiques about the script: for instance, some wondered that if the aliens’ weak spot was water (they ”dissolved” when they came in contact with it), why on earth (pun intended!) did they then try to take over a planet that has it in plentiful amounts?
I always thought that it was just an example of ”suspension of disbelief” and didn’t let it ruin an otherwise absorbing film.
I watch Dave Cullen’s youtube channel from time to time, and in a current video, he happened to talk about Signs, and how the film could be interpreted differently: the villains are not necessarily aliens, but rather they could be seen as demons.
It makes sense in a way, and viewed like this, it might actually improve the movie. As an example, the younger child thinks that the water in the house is ”contaminated” and leaves glassfuls of it around the house. She also seems to be able to see into the future, like her mother. Apparently, she has additional supernatural abilities, and inadvertently blesses the glasses of water, making them ”holy water", which they use to kill the alien/demon left inside their house.
If you took this theory further, the alien/demon element could also be looked at from a hyperdimensional point of view: the 4D STS forces presented themselves as fairies and other other-worldly entities in the old times; nowadays aliens seem to be the preferred manifestation.
Anyways, it’s a good movie worth watching, and I thought this alternate take put a new spin on it!
