Film Reviews

Signs

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Abigail Breslin
• Details: US / 104 minutes / (15PG).

A former church minister whose faith crumbled after his wife was killed in a car accident, Graham Hess (Gibson) is finding it difficult to come to terms with his loss, some six months down the line. Although his brother, Merrill (Phoenix) has moved into the family house to help with the children, Morgan (Culkin) and Bo (Breslin), Graham is still dazed by the accident. When the Hess family awakens one morning to find that the corn field behind their house has been transformed by vast crop circles, they believe that it's the work of local pranksters. However, when similar hieroglyphs are reported in places as far away as India, and mysterious lights are spotted over Mexico City, it's clear that something very strange is happening.
While the premise may initially indicate otherwise, Signs is a movie which is primarily concerned with faith and the dangers of losing it. The director's views on the subject are a little limited, but he can still weave a decent yarn, and certainly hasn't completely lost the art of generating acceptable levels of drama, atmosphere and tension. When it all comes together, as it does occasionally here, Signs works a treat, but all too often Shyamalan allows the mood he has established to slip away in pursuit of his point. Honourable but the entertainment suffers.

Review by Garreth Murphy