Every M. Night Shyamalan Movie Ranked Worst To Best
3. Signs (2002)
The story is simple: A loving family man (Mel Gibson) comes to learn that there are aliens amongst us, so he must prepare his family (younger brother Joaquin Phoenix and kids Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) for armageddon.
Eerily paced and ambiguous, leaning more into the terror of the situation rather than in the in-your-face nastiness of the aliens themselves, Signs is Shyamalan at the height of his powers, exploring the bonds of family and the shakiness of faith with moody visuals and unsettling restraint.
It juggles a lot -- between its assessments of God, grief, childhood trauma and alien lore, I'd say too much -- but hell if it isn't a tour de force impossible to shake. This is a blockbuster with heart and smarts, the likes of which we sorely miss.