Signs (2002)

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer (WGA):

M. Night Shyamalan (written by)

Release Date:

2 August 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | 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 | Alien | Baseball

Awards:

2 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS

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] [Acting in his own film].

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Graham and Merril are having their talk in the living room while the kids are asleep, Graham talks about how people see the "fourteen lights" differently, when there are actually only thirteen lights.

Quotes:

Graham Hess: See this is why we're not watching TV, people become obsessed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

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.