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After taking the world by storm withThe Sixth Sense, which made M. Night Shyamalan a household name, his next film,Unbreakable, while a success, was not held in the same regard as the ’99 horror. to prove he was not a one-trick pony, the acclaimed director started working on his next horror thriller,Signs, which many still consider his scariest work yet.
Initially perceived as joyous and almost childlike in its point-of-view, the Mel Gibson-led sci-fi thriller ended up being a nightmare for an entire generation of audience.
Fans Recount the Brilliance of M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs
Despite not being graphic in its presentation, the extreme tension and peril throughoutSigns‘ proved to be too much for many viewers. Starring Mel Gibson as Graham Hess, and Joaquin Phoenix as Merrill Hass, compared to other sci-fi horrors,Signsis a lot more intimate in its presentation, Which follows Graham’s struggle with faith and grief.
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Moreover, in addition to James Newton Howard’s nerve-wracking score, which further elevates the tension, the film also sees Shyamalan brilliantly using silence to intensify tense situations.
While it didn’t replicate the impact ofThe Sixth Sense,Signswas still seen as a masterclass in contemporary horror, which successfully traumatized viewers upon its release. Reacting to M. Night Shyamalan’s recent post, which sees fans jokingly commending the filmmaker for traumatizing them as kids, fans recounted their admiration for the sci-fi horror.
The build to the reveal with terrifying. This is still one of my favorites.
Had us all freaked outhttps://t.co/4eHl86P7dn
One traumatized generation, sir🤣🤣🤣
It was legitimately one of the scariest scenes. It was so realistic and quick.
Literally used to be super into aliens growing up and this movie alone turned my interest into a phobia 😭😭😭 lmao
Although Shyamalan’s Hollywood run post-Signshas been a hit-or-miss, as his next two features were seen as major letdowns, it doesn’t take away from his brilliance onSigns, whichmade$408M.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Role inSignsWas a Departure From His Traditional Roles
After Mark Ruffalo dropped out of the Merrill Hess role following surgery on his inner ear, theUnbreakabledirector moved toJoaquin Phoenixfor the part. Being fresh from the Oscar race, thanks to his performance inGladiator, considering he was the comic relief in the tense sci-fi horror, Phoenix joked he was happy to take a break from serious roles. Speaking of his role, hesaid:
I don’t think I want to be a comedic actor, but I think I just want to try everything, give a shot at everything. And this certainly presented the opportunity for me to play a role that was more fun, not as serious. I didn’t get arrested or kill anybody, so that was really good. It was exactly what I wanted to do in terms of the character.
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As for the role of the lead, Clint Eastwood was initiallyapproachedto play Graham, but he passed on the film due to scheduling conflicts, which ended up making room for Gibson.
Signsis available to stream on Max.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
