AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw a new sci fi/thriller film. Here are her thoughts on....

SIGNS

Touchstone Pictures

Sixth Sense writer/director M. Night Shyamalan knocked our socks off with a kid who sees dead people. Now, he's back in our faces with a kid (and his whole family) who see….aliens!

Farmer/Minister Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) gave up the calling when his wife died. No longer believing in God, he lives a cold, emotionless life on the family farm with his kids Morgan (Rory Culkin), adorable daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin) and younger ex-ballplayer brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix). When he finds an intricate series of crop circles on his land, Graham, at first chalks it up to neighborhood pranksters but, as weird and threatening events start happening worldwide and to Graham and his family, he has to examine what these "signs" actually mean. The crisis at home forces him to re-examine his crisis of faith.

This spooky film is sort of The Panic Room meets War of the Worlds and Children of the Corn. It is the only alien invasion film I've seen without the actual invasion portrayed on screen but that doesn't mean Signs won't spook you bigtime! All of Shyamalan's films are suspenseful psychological thrillers and contain a "message". This is one director who asks the big questions. Yes, Signs is scary but at the core is a story of a minister renewing his faith in God.

In this case, the writer/director poses a question of belief. Are you the kind of person who thinks everything is just random or do you believe there is some sort of universal "plan' in effect for our lives? Signs does resolve this question but it's frustrating that Shyamalan leaves unanswered questions about the true intentions of invading aliens. In fact, the whole alien, crop sign question is irrelevant to the story being told here. It could have been a tough group of killers threatening Graham and his family. The alien angle is only a device through which Shyamalan tells his 'soul in crisis" tale. It makes for a weirdly-blended film but a gripping one none-the-less.

A fan of classic sci fi tales like War of the Worlds and Invasion of The Body Snatchers, the writer/director gives us a quite frightening alien threat. Younger girls might be pretty scared of the weird-looking aliens so, if you or your younger sister spook easily when seeing a movie monster, this is fair warning.

No matter what the alien threat, there are tons of truly edge-of-your-seat scary moments in the film so don't hesitate to take your boyfriend or go with a crowd of best buds. Music punctuates the tension and the weird, clicking alien "language" sounds really creep you out. There is also a lot of wonderful humor as Graham, once a minister, tries to curse and as he deals with his bright kids. Mel Gibson, who is a bigtime dad in real life, is very natural and loving with the kids and his performance is the better for it. He's wonderful as a tortured soul. Kid actors Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin are very believable as the children facing a scary, unknown threat. Joaquin Phoenix portrays just the right mix of doofus country boy charm and fight back abilities when he needs them.

Flashbacks are a bit awkwardly inserted but that is a small flaw. The director, as he does in all his films, appears briefly. This time he's a country vet but Shyamalan, with his exotic, East Indian looks, sticks out like a sore thumb among the Pennsylvania country yokels he's created. Maybe, this time, he should have stayed behind the camera. When we left the theater we were given low tech devices to prevent aliens from reading our minds. Despite my criticisms, I was just creeped out enough to be glad to get one!

Rated: PG-13 for some frightening moments

Official website www.signs.movies.com