Signs (film)

Signs (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (November 2012)

Signs
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by	M. Night Shyamalan Frank Marshall Kathleen Kennedy Sam Mercer
Written by	M. Night Shyamalan
Starring	Mel Gibson Joaquin Phoenix Rory Culkin Abigail Breslin
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Tak Fujimoto
Editing by	Barbara Tulliver
Studio	Blinding Edge Pictures The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02)
Running time	107 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$72 million[1]
Box office	$408,247,917[1]

Signs is a 2002 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and released on August 2, 2002. Executive producers for the film comprised Shyamalan, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Sam Mercer. on August 2, 2002, the original motion picture soundtrack was released by the Hollywood Records label and the film score was composed by musician James Newton Howard. A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by Touchstone Pictures, Blinding Edge Pictures, and the Kennedy/Marshall Company. It was commercially distributed by Touchstone Pictures theatrically, and by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in home media format.

The story focuses on a former Episcopal priest named Graham Hess who discovers a series of crop circles in his cornfield. Hess slowly becomes convinced that the phenomena are a result of extraterrestrial life. Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin star in principal roles. Signs explores faith, kinship and extraterrestrials.^[2]

Following its premiere in theatres nationwide, the film grossed $227,966,634 in domestic ticket receipts screening at 3,453 theatres during its widest release. It earned an additional $180,281,283 in business through international release to top out at a combined $408,247,917 in gross revenue. The film was nominated for multiple awards, including those from the Online Film Critics Society and the Empire Awards. The film also won an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Considering its $72 million budget costs, the film was considered a strong financial success after its theatrical run, and was generally met with mixed to positive critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas, with critics praising its atmosphere and story but criticising its script and performances.^[3] The high-definition Blu-ray Disc edition of the film featuring the director's audio commentary, the making of the film, and deleted scenes was released in the United States on June 3, 2008.

 

Plot

 

Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a former Episcopal priest. His wife Colleen (Patricia Kalember) was killed in a traffic accident caused by Ray Reddy (M. Night Shyamalan). Graham's younger brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) helps run the family farm in rural Pennsylvania and care for Graham's kids, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin).

A mysterious crop circle is found in the cornfield. Bo wakes Graham up saying that there's a monster outside her bedroom window. Graham looks out the window and sees the silhouette of someone standing on the barn roof. Alarmed, he fetches Merrill and they try to scare away the figure, believing it's Lionel Pritchard (Michael Showalter), a local prankster. The brothers run screaming around the house to frighten off the intruder.

The next day, Sheriff Paski (Cherry Jones) stops by to investigate the incident. Their conversation is interrupted by Bo, saying that the TV is reporting numerous crop circles appearing all over the world. The family take a trip into town the following day.

That night, the dog barks incessantly towards the cornfield. Taking a flashlight, Graham walks into the cornfield and yells that the intruders are "wasting [their] time." As Graham walks back to the house, he hears a noise and spots a thin green leg among the cornrows. He runs back to the house, terrified. Later the family watches the television about reports of several unidentifiable and mysterious lights hovering over Mexico City.

The following morning, Graham receives a cryptic phone call from Ray, the man who killed his wife. Graham goes to see Ray and finds him sitting in his car wearing a bloody shirt. Meanwhile, a frightened Merrill watches news footage capturing the image of an alien at a child's birthday party in Brazil. Ray tells Graham that he is going to the lake, since none of the aliens have been seen near water. Before leaving, Ray pauses to apologize for the accident that killed Colleen and tells Graham that he trapped an alien in his pantry. Investigating, Graham uses a kitchen knife to see the reflection of the alien under the door. A clawed hand reaches out and a startled Graham cuts off two of its fingers.

Back home, Graham gives his family the options to stay at the house or head towards the lake. They vote to stay, not wanting to leave their home. They board up the windows and doors, preparing for any possible attack. Meanwhile, news reports indicate that more mysterious lights have been spotted worldwide and that the aliens are becoming hostile. Merrill suggests that the crop circles in their cornfield, among others, are for alien navigation.

Graham prepares a "last meal" for the family, with each picking their preferred dish. They are interrupted when they hear Bo's baby monitor, which they had earlier discovered could pick up the aliens' communications, alerting them that the aliens are approaching. They listen as the aliens, seeking a way in, walk around the house. Merrill suddenly realizes that the attic was left unprotected and they quickly move to the basement, barring the door. The aliens can be heard inside the house and try to enter the basement. An alien grabs Morgan from the disused coal chute. It is driven away, but Morgan has an asthma attack. Graham realizes his inhaler was left upstairs, so he calms Morgan, hoping that the boy's breathing would return to normal. The next morning, Morgan's condition has improved and the radio reports that aliens are retreating. They return upstairs but are ambushed by a lone alien, who takes the comatose Morgan hostage. Graham notices two fingers are missing, meaning it was the alien trapped in Reddy's pantry.

Graham suddenly remembers the night that his wife died. She was pinned by a car and the Sheriff tells Graham that when the car is moved his wife will die. He talks to her and she tells him to let Morgan have fun and be silly, and for Bo to always listen to her brother because he will take care of her. She then tells Graham to "see" and "tell Merrill to swing away."

Graham realizes there was meaning in his wife's final words. Looking around, he sees Merrill's mounted record home run bat, next to Merrill. He tells Merrill to "swing away." Merrill understands and grabs the bat. Sensing an attack, the alien sprays a toxin into Morgan's face. Merrill swings at the alien, who then drops Morgan, causing one of Bo's water glasses to spill on it. The water acts like acid on the alien's skin, so Merrill starts smashing all of the half-empty glasses, before finally knocking the alien into a table, where water glasses spilled directly onto its face, killing it.

During the fight, Graham takes Morgan outside and administers an Epi-pen injection to stop the asthma attack. Morgan regains consciousness, his lungs having been closed up prevented him from inhaling the alien's gas. Realizing that Colleen's final words meant something after all, and that they saved his family's life, Graham's faith is restored. Months later, Graham gets dressed in his clerical garb and goes back to church.