So weird story about the movie Signs. The first time I watched the movie was at home with a friend on VHS on my 32 inch CRT TV (yes, I know how old that makes me sound).
So early on in the movie, the protagonist’s daughter wakes him in the middle of the night. She says she saw a monster outside of her room. He takes her back to her room to console her. They talk for a bit, then he looks outside and the camera cuts to his view of the roof and night sky. Some jump scare music plays, then he suddenly looks shocked and afraid. My friend and I were confused. We didn’t see anything shocking or scary, so we rewind the video back and play it through again. He looks out window… roof… scary music… shocked face… we don’t get it. What are we missing? We rewound back to the roof, and paused the video. We got up off the couch and got closer. We stared at the screen from like 2 feet away and didn’t see a damn thing. WTF?
We figure maybe there is something invisible that he is seeing? Maybe that is the point? Maybe he is crazy? Or maybe our movie is poorly edited and they cut out what he is meant to see by mistake? IDK. We continued watching for a while, and saw several glimpses of aliens soon their after, but no explanation about the roof.
We didn’t end up finishing the movie that sitting, and we didn’t come back to watch it for weeks, so when we did decide to finish it, we decided to watch it over from the beginning. Again, just my friend and I, same TV, same VHS. That scene rolls around where the girl wakes up dad, says she saw a monster outside her room… walk to bedroom… talk… he looks out window… roof… AND THERE IS A FUCKING ALIEN ON THE ROOF! CLEAR AS DAY! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!
Scared the shit out of us!
Still to this day, I don’t have an explanation for this. I’m sure it’s something dumb like someone fiddling with the color saturation on the TV or some shit, idk. But both of us fucking studied that roof the first time and saw absolutely nothing, then the second time there was no missing the alien for either of us! Most effective jump scare in a movie ever (with a weeks long delay).
I don’t remember this part at all anyone got a clip
Here’s the clip and the rooftop moment is at around 1:35(ish)
You’re living a good life if that’s your childhood trauma.
Still the only movie I left the theater mad that I spent money on it.
Aliens capable of interstellar travel, coordinating a planetary invasion, that spent decades doing recon ahead of time, and all they do is run around naked. Ohh, and they chose a planet covered 70% with acid (to them) that literally falls from the sky.
So. Fucking. Stupid. And not in a fun way.
The movie isn’t about aliens. You never see a spaceship. There’s no technology displayed by them at any point.
They’re monsters or demons that take the form of people’s fears. Everyone who describes what they fear in the “others” are proven correct, and what defeats them is faith and hope.
In the end over the radio, they never actually say what specifically defeated them, but that the tide turned in the holy lands.
Yep, the movie makes a lot more sense with this in mind. Also, the aliens aren’t hurt by any water. It’s water that the priest’s daughter, who is called “special” several times in the movie, has left all over the house. The water has been blessed by her without her realizing it, it’s holy water.
Can someone please explain the joke for me?
The guy smiling on the left is M. Night Shyamalan, the director of the movie “Signs” (2002). Without giving away too much of the plot, it’s about aliens and the picture in the sign became a meme because the special effects in the movie were mediocre for the time.
I disagree that it’s about the graphics (in this specific case). That scene has a scare that, when looked at by itself, is not scary at all. However, the setup is so perfect that it had people screaming when they first watched it. I was definitely the target audience at the time, maybe 11 or 12 years old, but it was incredibly powerful. I still get goosebumps when I see it, even though the graphics are bad. It wasn’t a jump scare; they flat-out said what was about to happen in more ways than one. But there was something so pure and fulfilling about them actually following through with exactly what you expected that it transcended being a simple scare.
Anyway, if you watched it as a kid there’s a decent chance that scene permanently lives in your head. I believe that’s what the poster is referencing.
THIS. Class action suit of 35-somethings v.Shyalaman, et al. Sign up!
Definitely the case here. I haven’t seen it in decades (?) and I can even feel the way I felt in that moment.
There is a very specific horror gasp dread feeling in his reveals that I don’t know where to find anymore. We had Blair Witch and some others - feels like a very distinct feature of the era.
I see your point. Perhaps, the scene/movie hits differently depending on the age you were when you watched it.
Can confirm. Tried watching this movie with my middle-schooler son a few weeks ago. That part scared the shit out of him and we had to turn the movie off.
I was in college and thought it was funny more than anything.
You really need the buildup of the entire movie for the scene to be really impactful, but despite the bad CGI, Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is excellent.
Damn, Mel Gibson is in it? I was excited til I saw that part.
Some of the dialogue is not great, but overall he has some fantastic acting that is worth seeing. Not to mention the other actors who are actually likeable and do a great job.
But, yeah, it is Mel Gibson. I wouldn’t buy another copy if it puts money in his hands. If you haven’t seen it I recommend finding an alternative path to watch it.
It’s a scene from the move signs. It was incredibly tense and jarring when it happened over the course of one second.
Someone provided a better answer than I did
I will never understand how he didn’t get more shit for straight up plagiarizing The Village.
Idk I never felt like the idea was that original to begin with
Why does the guy holding the sign look like Misha Collins?
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Signs also used tension expertly to build up the mystery and suspense. Then this scene happens probably 45 minutes into the movie with an alien just walking by. It was unexpected for its time and definitely spooked and traumatised my younger self. Cool movie for sure! I should watch it again to see if it still holds up.
I was an adult and it made me jump. And traumatized me a little. It was timed so perfectly ( and quickly)