When it came to reworking the horror genre with a modern twist, M. Night Shyamalan achieved great success with his breakthrough film in Hollywood, The Sixth Sense. He followed up this Oscar-nominated effort with the equally impressive Unbreakable in 2000, and Signs in 2002, which further cemented his place as filmmaker with a niche approach to horror and supernatural narratives.
As the law of averages always dictates, his subsequent efforts in The Village and The Happening did not garner the kind of responses he had would have hoped for. Despite these films crashing at the box office, fans still remember many of his iconic scenes from his early films. One particular scene in Signs still makes viewers’ blood curdle even after 22 years of its release.
This Scene From Signs Is Still As Chilling As Ever
For jumps scares in a supernatural or a horror film to hit front and center, the clever collaboration of writing and visualization is necessary to produce the necessary effect. M. Night Shyamalan understood this concept in and out with his initial foray into this genre. While The Sixth Sense gave audiences a glimpse into what the filmmaker could achieve through subtlety, 2002’s Signs further drove home this point.
The film, starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, follows the story of a former priest named Graham Hess who discovers a series of crop circles in his cornfield which indicates the signs of extraterrestrial life. Apart from exploring themes of faith and family, the movie also gave audiences many terrifying moments to endure.
One particular scene continues to send shivers down the spines of fans more than two decades after the film’s release. The sequence involves Phoenix’s character watching a news coverage in Brazil, in which an alien is casually seen walking across the front yard of a house where a child’s birthday party is underway.
The footage is seen through a handheld camera taken by the child’s father who is covering the chaos of the party. Hearing the screams of the kids who spotted something outside, he runs along with them towards the window while continuing to film. For a fleeting moment, there is silence before an alien monster casually passes through the frame across the garden, leaving not only Phoenix and the children shell-shocked, but the audience watching as well.
This particular scene worked on multiple levels owing to the manner in which Shyamalan executed it. Just when viewers are trying to focus on why the birthday party is being disrupted, they are completely caught off-guard on seeing the monster walk across. This is just one of the sequences that makes Signs a thoroughly satisfying watch for horror movie buffs.
Fans Laud M. Night Shyamalan For Continuing To Haunt Them
M. Night Shyamalan may not be ruling the roost currently when it comes to the horror genre. But there is no denying the fact that the Unbreakable filmmaker has a whole generation of fans who are still haunted by his first few films. The director’s 2002 horror thriller Signs saw viewers jumping in their seats all over again.
The birthday party scene with the alien crossing the lawn is still considered to be one of the scariest moments not just in the film, but of all time as well. Shyamalan realized the impact of this moment recently when he tweeted an image of him with a Brazilian fan who was holding up a poster featuring an image of the alien. The Last Airbender director seemed rather surprised and tickled to know that it was still being discussed.
This Brazilian fan really made me laugh. pic.twitter.com/Ux4mchUdTQ
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) July 21, 2024
Other viewers also took to social media to comment on this particular sequence and how it impacted them then and even now, many years later. A few fans referred to how the realistic visualization of the scene through a handheld camera made the fear even more tangible.
One of the best monster reveals in a movie ever. The found footage aspect makes it so effective
— Roque Deleon (@roqueadeleon) July 21, 2024
I don't know if you remember or are aware, but that alien was "home shoot" in Brazil, maybe even in the same state and city where that fan came from, what makes this even more frightening for us brazillians
— Alguém na multidão (@algmnamultidao) July 21, 2024
I love that it was found footage taken at a kid's birthday party. That's so terrifying 😩
— Tophia’s Leaning Crocs 🩴 (@BeysPinkyFinger) July 21, 2024
Some films stand the test of time, and Signs has proved to be a cult classic in this regard. Fans will be wanting Shyamalan to get back into top form with his upcoming film Trap starring Josh Hartnett, which is set to release on August 2nd, 2024. The film, which is touted to be a psychological thriller with Hartnett playing a serial killer, is a departure from the director’s usual niche.
Signs can be streamed on Max.
