8 Films & 1 TV Show That Work Perfectly From Different Perspectives
4. The Aliens Are Actually Demons - Signs
Has there even been a more shunned name than M. Night Shyamalan? There definitely have been worse directors to get their hands on a film, but none has been such a tremendous letdown as this guy. I mean how on earth does a man who made the greatest ghost film of all time also make The Happening? One movie from the American director that does deserve a lot more praise than it receives is the excellent Signs, a film that is so much more than the Alien invasion film it appears to be on first viewing.
Most of the criticism for this film comes in response to the climax, where the invading aliens are defeated by glasses of water. The ending just doesn't feel right and not befitting what comes before it. But the viewing experience is actually enhanced by the climax when viewing the villains not as aliens, but as Demons. This explanation explains a number of the flaws of the film, including the death by water suffered by the creatures, but also allows us to see the deeper themes being explored.
The new context allows us to see what the film is really about, a loss of faith for our protagonist, Father Graham Hess, portrayed with great nuance by Mel Gibson. The loss of his wife in a pointless car accident has destroyed any purpose he once had, but all this is resolved within the new viewing of the climax, with his blessing of the holy water proving the catalyst for stopping the evil in its tracks. The ending now also works a metaphor, symbolising that while evil is always present in our world, there is good there too, if you can just look for the signs.
The more you watch this film in this context, the more puzzling it is that the 'aliens' weren't just identified as demons from the start. Then the film could have been viewed as the masterpiece it justifiably is.