Signs | Canadian First Time Watching | Movie Reaction | Movie Review | Movie Commentary

The "Birthday Party Video" got such a great reaction from the crowd at the theater back in the day. Glad to see it still has the same power all these years later.

11:20 is the most impressive jump scare I’ve ever witnessed. Most of the time a film makes its audience jump by having something enter the frame, but M Night makes something leaving the frame jump-worthy and it’s so much more chilling for the fact that you now have no idea where it’s gone

George nailed it at minute 20. The aliens were just a vehicle to draw out the real story of grief, faith and the loss of faith and getting it back

Honest to god, I feel this was Mel Gibson's best acting in any role he's ever done. He absolutely perfectly portrays this broken, scared man who is at war with himself and his faith. Mel just nails every single line, especially the dry comedic lines and looks. And his acting at the end during the dinner scene makes me tear up every time, such a damn good movie! If only M. Night could bring this level of creativity and cohesiveness back to his films

Simone, now imagine being 10-11 years old and watching Signs for the first time and you watch that birthday party scene. 😂 I was terrified for weeks.

Simone basically hyperventilating on the jump scare is the cherry on top of the entire reaction!

Jeez I remember that scene when the alien pops out in the kids birthday, that was one of the most terrifying scenes I've ever seen and it still gives me the chills when I see it. Great reaction 👍

One of the things that helps the movie in its scare factor is the fact that we're seeing the alien arrival through an isolated family's perspective

George hit the nail on the head when he said the movie isn't really about aliens. It was marketed as an "alien invasion" thriller, of course, but the aliens are more like a convenient plot device than anything. In fact you could replace the aliens with just about any other big existential threat (a natural disaster, a zombie apocalypse, an asteroid hurtling towards the earth) and alter the details to suit, and it wouldn't change the core of what the story's about at all.

The thing you may have forgotten is the fact that the uncle can hit HARD. In the scene at the sheriff's office it was pointed out that he had set 5 minor league records, including farthest home run.

This came out my Junior year in highschool, and it was one of the best theatre experiences I’ve ever had. When we got home, my girlfriend at the time called me freaking out because her dog, who never barked, wouldn’t stop barking. It turns out, there were just deer running around her backyard. But still, this movie made her jumpy.

That birthday party video where the Alien walks by was the scariest thing in theaters 😂

I agree, Simone, M. Night peppered this film with enough comedic moments to make the terrifying ones feel extreme. Fantastic score on this one, too. The supper scene is one of the most moving I've ever seen. Mel Gibson's acting is phenomenal. And, really... aren't all of M. Night's movies about family and personal relationships?

Scene of the family dinner, Mel Gibson talking to his wife for the last time and when Gibson tells god he hates him while holding his son- makes this grown man get sweaty eyes every single time.

This movie scarred me as a child, my dad would impersonate the clicking noises the aliens did haha

Little Miss Sunshine is a must see if you wish to see more Abigail Breslin in her breakout role

3:48 To add to what others have explained: yes, knowing the distance from a city does help. Additionally, it helps give framing for the characters, attitudes, and experiences, as well. For instance, a farmer on the edge of a big city will often have different experiences from a one in "farm country". If it's done well, natural stereotyping helps to build a "wider frame" without limiting the characters or story. In this story, it is important because a priest and priest's family in a small community is typically very well known across the immediately neighboring towns. So, as a viewer, you can assume that almost everyone that Gibson meets in the film will have an established personal relationship with him. Towns like where Gibson is typically have 1-2 churches, and possibly another in the neighboring town (depending on their population and sprawl). Finally, in smaller rural towns, prior to about the 2000s, most priests were lifers (I don't know if that holds today). So, for Gibson to leave the church when he's got a family immediately tells American viewers that something bad must have happened to cause his separation. So the geography and his profession are a hint before they ever show you that his wife is gone. It can actually prime the audience to know what type of missing piece to look for almost immediately (missing spouse or kid).

"There's nothing wrong with your television set" is from The Outer Limits.

You can really tell that this is Shyamalan's first post September 11th film. That sense of unfolding panic and confusion is something a lot of people lived 'live on TV'.

3:38 - yes, it actually helps a lot to place it. Think of it this way: The fastest speed limit you'll see on the interstate highway when you get to more rural areas (at least on the east coast) is 65 miles per hour. If you round that down to 60 miles per hour, that's 1 mile per minute. So you can think of it as a 45 minute drive on the highway from Philadelphia.