Signs

Signs

I have watched horror films since I was very young (my friend's parents were European and very open-minded and though nothing of hiring out a whole stack of splatter flicks for Grade 3 kids) and I had myself convinced that since I had immersed myself in so much gore and cheap scares in my youth that nothing in a film could ever scare me. And trust me, I tried. I sat through every ‘Banned in Queensland!' film I could find and – nothing.

Such is the astounding writing and direction of M. Night that while films about serial killers and child murderers do nothing but entertain, a film about aliens invading the Earth totally fucking unnerved me. The leg in the cornfield…The footage from the kid's birthday party…The sounds of scraping and clawing to get to the family who have barracked themselves in their basement…so many brilliant moments.

I cannot understand those who dislike this film, and can't fathom how some can hate it. I actually stayed clear of this film in the cinema because I heard so much negativity about the film, specifically the end. Stupid me. Last time I listen to the herd. The only thing I can guess is that people were expecting a jaw-dropping “Oh My God – Mel Gibson is the alien!!!!!” moment that just never came. To me, with the film's themes being what they are, the end not only made sense, but was near perfect. Of course everyone also uses the same joke that “for aliens that are scared of water they sure chose the wrong planet to invade!!!” These people are idiots. They are the kind of people that would criticise a Godzilla film for being too unrealistic.

Since I first watched it alone in the dead of night a few years ago I have seen Signs more time than I can remember. Writing these words just makes me want to sit down and watch it again right now. I am loathe to ever committing myself to having a favourite film, but if I did this would definitely make the shortlist, with a strong chance of taking out the coveted top spot.