In 2002, two-time Academy Award nominated writer and director M. Night Shyamalan was still trying to live up to the hype from The Sixth Sense (1999), a massive success and guarantor for a career that would become one of the best examples of expectations vs. reality. He had been dubbed “The next Spielberg” just two days after the release of Signs (2002), Hollywood was high on his supply and fans waited with baited breath for his next film. That ended up being The Village (2004), which I truly believe is his masterpiece, but that’s another review for another time. Ultimately, the backlash from its release would throw him into a sort of director’s jail and it was unclear if he would ever get out. Now that the dust has settled and Shyamalan is back in audiences’ good graces, thanks in no small part to The Visit (2015), Split (2016), and this year’s Trap, it has now become en vogue to be a fan of Shyamalan, leaning into his proclivity for stilted dialogue and “twist” endings. But what is in the margins? Will looking deeper into his films and characters yield a spiritual resonance between man and God? Perhaps, or maybe it’s all fun and games.
Starting with the The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan used the themes of faith, innocence lost, and fear (Praying with Anger (1992) and Wide Awake (1998) share these themes as well, but are not as well known). And not just fear in the sense that something is about to jump out from behind the corner, but a deeper, child-like fear of the unknown, as well. It is clearly seen in The Sixth Sense and in Unbreakable (2000), the themes of faith and belief are central to its thesis. Following the heels of Unbreakable came a film about a priest who lost his faith in God and is full of fear. Fear for his children, fear that he’s been wrong his whole life, fear that if something so out of control like an alien invasion can happen, then how could there possibly be a God. This is a big-budget Hollywood film starring big names and having a $72 million budget dealing with questions like faith, coincidence, and if God exists in some way meaningful to humans. Questions he asks again in Lady in the Water (2006). And while your mileage may vary on his films, the swings he takes, especially with his themes, are admirable.
Sticking to horror is a great genre for these kinds of questions; tapping into a very primal emotion like fear is a great starting point for wrestling with your audience on questions of faith. Films like The Exorcist III (1990) and the newer Saint Maude (2019) are excellent examples of films grappling with these themes, but none have had the platform Shyamalan had at this moment in his career.
Signs stars Mel Gibson (Machete Kills) as Graham Hess, a retired priest in a crisis of faith, caring after his two young children (Rory Culkin (Scream 4) and Abigail Breslin (Maggie)) after the untimely death of their mother. Joaquin Phoenix (her) plays the brother to Gibson who’s moved onto the farm to help out.
The pace is quick, starting with Gibson’s Hess getting woken up by screaming children. You are plunged into this broken family without any build up; it’s eerie and confusing. There are a lot of questions not being answered until the final reveal of the family as they discover the crop circle in their field. On multiple watches, it’s apparent through Gibson’s performance that Hess is grieving, confused, and angry. Still navigating this new life, the tension and the mystery builds through news reports, something Shyamalan uses a lot to convey plot (Knock at the Cabin (2023) uses this motif quite well). The reports consist of more crop circles being discovered and alien ships, which is more effective in communicating an invasion than a boots-on-the-ground approach. Shyamalan uses sound to great effect in conveying the location of the aliens; sometimes it’s clicking, others it’s loud bangs, but it allows your imagination to run wild. The film stays on the family and the farmhouse — that’s what is important; that is what matters. The human element is what drives the story. The deeper personal exploration of faith versus fate is woven perfectly in, giving the audience a chance to feel with the characters, and ultimately heal with them.
Disney is finally releasing Shyamalan’s Signs and The Sixth Sense, something fans have wanted for a long time (don’t even get me started on The Village!) For Signs, the 4K transfer from the original negatives is outstanding; the colors are sharp and crisp and particularly stand out in the scenes at night (looking at you alien on the roof). Running through cornfields at night is not blotchy and the picture doesn’t get blurred, making that creepy leg picked up by the flashlight really pop!
This film was built around its sound. There have been 4K releases that really took advantage of their sound design. The release of Twister this year was able to capture that dynamic range and really add to the experience. With Signs, the sound is a regular DTS-HD Master Audio; there is no Dolby Atmos upgrade from what I could ascertain from the promotional material, but my digital copy tells me that it is Dolby Digital Plus, which is better than Dolby Digital 5.1, but I’m no audio engineer. When the characters are running through cornfields, or listening to alien conversations over baby monitors, and hearing the loud-ass banging that scares me EVERY TIME, I really want that extra oomph that the Atmos really brings. Even without the Atmos, it is worth the upgrade from the Blu-ray or DVD you’ve been rocking since the 2010s.
The film beautifully sets up its conflict and how it affects the characters within the world. The relationship being built with the audience is unique, feeding just enough information to make sense of characters’ choices, but not enough to feel cliched or boring. The choices Shyamalan makes, knowing he’s being anointed by the masses, and still sticking to his writing and servicing the story, are gutsy. He knows he’s the “twist” guy, and yet he was still able to deliver a stellar thriller and make the studio money. Garnering $400 million worldwide, Signs struck a chord with audiences around the world.
There are no available special features included with the digital edition.
Available on digital as a single film or in a three-film collection August 27th, 2024.
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo Pack October 22nd, 2024.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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