Not many horror films truly scare me these days. But alien horror? Even the ones substandard to most send me into a fear frenzy. That’s why I’m taking a deep dive into the sub-genre.
Welcome to “Aliens Scare Me”. A look into alien horror films on a case by case basis. This month we investigate creepy crop circles with M. Night Shyamalan‘s Signs.
What it’s about: Signs was the fifth movie of Shyamalan’s career and one of his most popular. Fresh off the success of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Yet, just before upsetting the Movie Gods and causing a colossal shit storm of epic proportions with his ending to The Village.
At its simplest Signs is about a family unit including characters portrayed by Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin (her first appearance in the movies) and Rory Culkin finding themselves at the center of an alien attack.
However, Signs has a lot of moving themes as Graham (Gibson) is a retired Preacher struggling with his faith after his wife was killed suddenly by a driver (played by Shyamalan) who falls asleep at the wheel. There’s a lot Signs unpacks about finding yourself in the impossible situation of being in the throws of extreme grief while also responsible for caring for a family. All this and the film still manages to end with a Night of the Living Dead-style barricading of the house as the aliens show up personally, at their home. Like they were selling fucking Omaha steaks.
Why It’s Scary: Shyamalan is noted as saying that the scariest part of the film was not the aliens but rather a good man losing his faith. I’ve checked with my personal sources however and can confirm that it’s still the aliens. One scene specifically? A top five scariest moment in film (for me); the birthday party scene.
Shyamalan utilizes found footage in a moment where a bunch of children in Brazil capture one of the aliens on camcorder. The footage is experienced through Merrill’s (Phoenix) point of view as he’s watching the TV in the closet (You know, so the kids don’t become obsessed). Merrill scoots way up the TV and hilariously starts screaming at the children to move; “VAMINOS CHILDREN, VAMINOS!” Then, it happens. The number one jump scare of my entire life. For the first time in the film we see one of the aliens in all of its glory as it passes through the street.
It’s not the way the aliens look per se, it’s the sudden shock of seeing an alien in the middle of the goddamn street creeping around like Michael Myers looking for his contact lens. I literally jumped out of my seat in the theater. And it’s not just visceral scares (there are only maybe four in the entire movie) but rather the impending doom. Something Signs manages to do extraordinarily well is give the audience every view imaginable of an alien invasion.
The worldly view comes as constant news updates throughout show us alien craft hovering over the entire world, the news anchor’s voice becoming more and more desolate.
We get the small town view of such a situation when the family takes a trip to town trying to take their minds off things. From the teenager in the pharmacy wanting to confess her sins before the end of the world, to the small book store having but a single book on aliens (left there by mistake), to the local army recruiter’s personal take on the situation. The entire trip to town was a very Stephen King moment for Shyamalan, creating an extra layer of contained panic. A town going about their everyday lives in the face of possible extinction because there’s nothing they can do but talk to each other about it.
Most impressively, we get the personalized perspective of an alien invasion in the scenes at the family farm home. Beginning with a slow build (the crop circles, the alien on the roof, the baby monitor capturing alien signals) and ending with a full-on alien home invasion sequence. Could you imagine being on a farm in the country at night knowing hostile aliens are trying to force their way in on foot? Give me zombies any day.
Finally, we find ourselves all the way back at what Shyamalan himself found scariest about the film…..the loss of faith. For me it’s not the religious aspect but rather a father who knows for certain in his heart that his family is going to die that night and there is nothing that’s going to save them. The last meal dinner scene is heartbreaking, frightening and a masterclass in acting from everyone involved. As much as aliens in horror scare me, the thought of helplessly losing my family scares me more.
Where it lands: Signs is one of my top ten favorite films of all time for all the reasons listed above. More than anything else, it’s just so….weird. From the pacing, to the dialogue, to the strange acting. It just feels so unlike any other movie.
It‘s also one of the few Shyamalan films that wasn’t all that divisive. The film comes in at an above average “Fresh” score from both audiences and critics. Though there are of course no doubt those who don’t appreciate it.
M. Night will always be a polarizing filmmaker but one does wonder if Signs isn’t a place of comfort for him in his resume. I know it’s a comfort film for me. Which probably sounds strange since it scares the bejesus out of me. Watching a movie every year for twenty years will take some of the edge off. A little bit, at least.