I like it.

k

it's a much better movie if you buy this theory.

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When I first saw this film, I didn't realize that it wasn't about aliens at all. It's about the return of demons. Notice it's all about a priest's resurgence of belief, and a preordained moment of redemption-if-dared-and-attempted. There is no alien technology or weaponry or clothing of any kind, only a clawed, naked beast creature and lights in the sky.

Furthermore: The running joke throughout the movie is that people see these "invaders" in a way that's related to their particular frame of mind: The cop sees them as prankster kids, the bookstore owners see them as "a hoax to sell commercials," the Army recruitment officer sees them as invading military, the kids see them as UFOs... and the Priest sees them as test of faith. This understanding of the film removed my hatred of the "You've got to be kidding me; they were killed by WATER!" concept. In fact, the priest's daughter had been referred to as "holy" (as revealed during Mel's key monologue)recognized by all who saw her at her birth as "an Angel;" and her quite particular relationship to water is shown to be very special and spiritual: In other words, she has placed vials of what are, essentially, HOLY WATER all around the house. (And the creature's reaction when coming in contact with this blessed liquid is EXACTLY like monsters/vampires being splashed by spiritual "acid.")

This view of the movie also explains the creature's actions: They act like superior tricksters, are not able to break in through closed doors, can be trapped behind simple wooden latches all mythological elements of demons and vampire-like creatures of lore. It also explains the news over the radio at the end of the movie that an ancient method of killing the creatures has been found "in three small cities in the Middle East" - one would suspect the religious "hubs" of the three main Abrahamic traditions, each discovering the "mystic methods" of protection-and-dispatch that I've noted earlier.

Note also: All the Christian iconography throughout the movie, the references to "Signs and Wonders" (the true meaning of the title), the crucifix shapes hinted-at everywhere (check out the overhead shot, looking down on the street driving into town) and the ultimate fact that the entire movie is built around a Priest rediscovering he is not abandoned to a random, Godless, scientifically-oriented Universe but, rather, is part of a predicted and dreamed-of plan.

Now these creatures may for all intents and purposes be some sort of extraterrestrial or inter-dimensional "aliens" but the point of the movie seems to be that they are, in the ACTUALITY OF THE FILM WORLD, the dark stuff from which all the character's tales of devils and night-creatures were born.

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I liked it

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I think Unbreakable and The Village are both better.

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Signs was good. The water thing felt arbitrary, but the overall theme of faith and "everything happens for a reason" made for good characters. The worst crime was the lousy CG in the final reveal of the alien.

Most people that hate the movie is missing the point and focusing too much on the plot. The alien plot is secondary. It could have been aliens, zombies, super smart gorillas, or even man eating tigers and wouldn't have mattered. I'm not saying it's the greatest movie ever made, but I think it's his second best movie.

God forbid I focus on the plot.

I really enjoyed it.

I totally understand the criticism of "why are they coming to a planet that's 2/3rds water when it can kill them?"

My theory on it is: they are from a planet that is completely out of food. They are starving and dying off at an alarming rate. Then, they discover a habitated planet with plenty of food. Only problem is it has an abundance of a toxic substance and the creatures on it are intelligent. But they are running out of options. So, they go down to that planet, send off a few scouting parties and wait for the right moment. Then, they make their play, knowing that many of them will be caught/killed. The ones who aren't caught? They make off with a fresh supply of meat (we are never told in the movie how many people were abducted). These aliens know that this is probably their only opportunity to do this because we'll be more prepared for them next time. But desperate times call for desperate measures. They came all that distance in their spaceships because we are the only planet with a food source around and they are starving.

It's like a bunch of teenagers doing a "snatch & grab" in a convenience store: they all filter out across the place, look nonchalant, then on a signal grab what they can and run like hell.

like every other M. Night movie it's pretty good, the very first time you watch it.

They have absolutely ZERO replay value, because once the "twist" is spoiled it completely taints everything else in the movie every time you see it.

Sixth Sense was an awesome movie...the first time I saw it. I rewatched it again nears later and it was unbearably boring.

Agree with Bill. We don't know why they're here or what their goal is. For all we know, Earth is the only planet they could find. The focus of the movie isn't supposed to be about the aliens. It's very much like the original Night of the Living Dead where you really don't know anything about the zombies because the movie isn't really about zombies.

Great movie and great horror flick. Probably my favorite "alien" movie ever. Loved the spiritual aspect of it.

Idk it always annoyed me because there wouldn't have been Aliens in WW2 and all that just to save some guy named Ryan, totally inaccurate IMO

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MOVE, children. VAMANOS

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MOVE, children. VAMANOS

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That line was worth the price of admission

I liked it because the whole plot is about the priest rediscovering his faith, with the long standing quirks of his family being the signs that brought him back. Not a great alien invasion movie if that's what you are looking for.

If you want alien invasion watch Independence Day or Mars Attacks!

First time, hated it.

Second time, hated it.

Third time... it was okay.

But then the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth time I watched it? I realized something... It's just, it's not good... It's not a good movie.