Signs Screenplay

M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed Signs, which stars Mel Gibson as Graham Hess, a former Episcopal priest who has lost his faith. The film also features Joaquin Phoenix as Graham's brother Merrill, Rory Culkin as son Morgan, and Abigail Breslin as daughter Bo. Shyamalan was at the peak of his early career following The Sixth Sense (1999) and Unbreakable (2000).

The aliens in Signs are revealed to be vulnerable to water, which acts as a burning acid to their skin. This plot point ties into the screenplay's thematic emphasis on seemingly meaningless events—such as Graham's daughter Bo leaving half-empty glasses of water around the house—having purpose in a larger plan. The revelation divides audiences and critics, with some finding it a clever thematic payoff and others considering it a plot contrivance.

Signs is set in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the Hess family lives on a farm and discovers the first crop circles in their cornfield. M. Night Shyamalan, who grew up in Pennsylvania, frequently sets his films in the state, and Signs was partially filmed in the area. The rural, isolated setting heightens the screenplay's atmosphere of dread and helplessness as the alien invasion unfolds.

Rather than a traditional twist like The Sixth Sense, Signs resolves by revealing that everything the Hess family experienced was part of a larger plan: Morgan's asthma saves him from alien gas, Merrill's former baseball skills become weapons, Bo's water glasses are defenses, and Graham's wife's dying words provide crucial guidance. The screenplay's central message is about faith and meaning, with Graham regaining his belief in God. This differs from Shyamalan's more famous narrative reversals.