Signs ~ Science Fiction DVD Movie Review

"Signs" is an absorbing Sci-Fi thriller directed by M Night Shyamalan, that moves slowly, giving you a chance to connect with the characters. Mel Gibson is the conflicted father from a religious background, striving to look after his newly motherless children plus his younger brother. Joaquin Phoenix is that brother, somewhat gullible but eager to help with the fractured family unit. When strange events begin occurring in the vicinity of their farm, this family provides realistic reactions of people confronted by the eerie unknown. They are not scientists or world leaders supposedly up to date with the facts. They are ordinary people coping with mysterious non ordinary events, at first attributing them to the doings of neighbours, then gradually realising forces well without the bounds of their normal experience are surrounding them. The outcome of their potential survival hangs in the balance to the end, with time left alive dragging, nerves disintegrating and love helping them cope but not solving their dilemma. This is definitely a dvd to buy and watch many times without a feeling of deja vu, as the engrossing drama is anchored in a real environment without boundless special effects.
For me, this is a four star movie.