M. Night Shyamalan's Signs knows how to please with style.

"I think God did it."-Morgan Hess

Probably the open secret to M. Night Shyamalan's success is that his movies are influenced by probably two of the greatest film makers there have ever been, Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock. If that statement is not very convincing, one doesn't have to do more than just observe his previous films and his latest foray into the unknown with Signs. Even the score from the opening credits is Hitchcockesque, screechy violins and all which is reminiscent of Psycho. And like the late film meister, M. Night casts himself in his own movies normally in the bit parts though this time, his character plays a considerable role in the dynamics of the plot. Mel Gibson is Graham Hess, a former priest who who's lost his faith in the wake of his wife's death. Joaquin Phoenix oozes quiet strength as the underacheived but capable younger brother, Merrill Hess. Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin play Morgan Hess and Bo Hess respectively. The children are arguably the most interesting characters in the film. And this brings to mind one of Spielberg's recurrent plot factors whereby children characters or child figures often occupy key roles(think Cole in The Sixth Sense and in Unbreakable). With the Hess household being the main setting of the film, I can't help but make connections to Hitchcock's The Birds. Even Merrill Hess at one moment in the film exclaimed, "It's just like War of the Worlds" referring to cult B-grade sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s which had evident influences on the movie as well.

Although it is obvious that Shyamalan indulged in many influences for Signs, he moulded plot, theme and setting together and accordingly so well that it emerges an original piece of pastiche work instead of a total rip-off. I admit I'm a sucker for movies with awe inspiring values and philosophies. And the story about a man who is left broken in the face of disillusionment and regains his sense of faith and strength turns out to be no exception. The plot is a fatalistic one and reaffirms the notion that things are as they are for a reason eventhough we do not understand why in the beginning. It is up to us if we can decipher the signs that are abound in our daily environment. Thus, there is again that classic sense of mystery shrouding the film just like its predecessors. Many believe that Shyamalan's signature is to be predictably unpredictable and tend to compare his latest offerings to the pull-the-rug-from-beneathe-your-feet ending of The Sixth Sense. And many have concluded that his newer "twists" are mellowed almost to nothing as compared to that. Personally, I think that the climatic moments of Unbreakable and Signs are revelations whereas in The Sixth Sense, it was a revelation coupled together with a twist so perhaps that's why the impact of the latter seems greater. But despite the lack of a twist in Signs, the revelation toward the end of the film is nonetheless very powerful because by then, I empathized with the characters who are both vulnerable and strong all at once. There's no denying that there is a certain formula applied to Shyamalan's movies and Signs is no exception. But his ability to take what works and discard what doesn't from former popular methods and injecting his own vision and values into his works, makes Signs a unique hybrid that pleases and yet, sets itself apart with its own sense of style.