When the movie first arrived on the scene, I was entering my 20's.
I had seen the universally loved Sixth Sense and was just blown away by the ending I never saw coming. A few years later, Signs arrives with mixed reviews. Upon my first viewing, I thought it was "okay." It had some super-spooky parts, and some decent sentiment. "Okay, but not great."
A few years later, I happened to catch it again. This time, I found myself much more invested in the plot and characters. One of the things that stuck out was the acting. Mel Gibson (love or hate him) gives a "perfect" performance. I mean, if this were a golf course, he would come in on-par. And, as always, Phoenix was just stellar as the less-than-bright, younger brother. (The kids... well, they're kids. Breslin was pretty good as the monotone Bo.)
Which brings us to today. I happened upon the movie, once again, via HBO. This time, the thing that stuck out for me was the pacing. Even in its slower moments, the movie feels like it's constantly working up towards something. Like the elevation of a anxiety attack, with smaller crescendos leading to things like the 1st dog's (Houdini) death, the "monster outside the room," The leg disappearing into the crop circles, the one trapped inside the pantry.
This movie has the perfect lead in to the nightmare apex of the basement:
-Animals acting weird
-Crop circles appearing
-The figure on the roof
-The baby monitor
-The flashlight at night in the crops
-The researching of the books
-The hovering lights
-The "found footage" of the alien on the news.
-The pantry
-Then the pay off of the attack, driving them into the basement.
Everytime I see this movie, I come away with something else. I consider this to be a masterpiece.
I'm not here to debate "bUt ThE WATER! 70% oF eArTh!"
And I'm not here to debate M.N. Shyamalan as a writer/filmmaker.
I just wanted to share my appreciation for one of the greatest (possibly undersung, depending on your view) horror/scifi films of this century.
The movie is the definition of "SetUp/PayOff."
And with no jump-scares (by which I mean, "something popping out and going 'Boo!' followed by a loud screech and an audio sting." Not - "cutting to something frightening.")
I hope there are a few of you that love this film the way I have learned to love it. And wanted to share with the community.
What are your thoughts?
Any horror films to recommend?
(I loved The Hounting of Hill House. But that's another thread for another day)
PS- Not a fan of the "Demons" theory, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
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