Cinema review (From Barry And District News)

Cinema review

Signs (12A)

DIRECTOR M Night Shyamalan is a genius - simple as that!

He gave us one of the biggest twists in cinema history with The Sixth Sense and followed up nicely enough with the under-rated Unbreakable. Now he has done even better!

Huge crop circles have appeared on Graham Hess's farm. Although he first believes it's just a hoax, the reported signs of spaceships hovering around countless cities makes him realise aliens have arrived.

However, with a family to look after, he has to ask himself do the aliens come in peace or are they hostile?

I have never found films scary, but I'll have to make an exception here. While it's not the type of film that has you sweating with fear, it's a psychological horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish - really.

Back in the days of classic cinema, the master was Hitchcock with his innovative techniques.

But now, many directors have surpassed Hitchcock's qualities and one director that does stand out is Shyamalan.

Not only does he make you care for his characters, in this film he makes you one of the characters with his innovative visual techniques.

Mel Gibson is perfect in the lead role, despite the fact that his character could have been more original. Joaquin Phoenix is given the chance to show off his acting abilities. But the actors are merely objects in this film. Fair enough they have a huge role to play, but the film is so gripping that you can't help but just want more and more alien stuff.

This is not bloated alien material like Independence Day, this is more like the old classic psychological thrillers. I have been writing these reviews for nearly two years now, and never have I been with an audience so quiet and gripped.

How Shymalan tends to purposely mislead audiences and mentally bully them is outstanding. He finishes by making you hate him - hate the fact that he can think of these amazing things and you can't. How he does can't be explained but the fact is that he has done this and has left you in awe.

A few may leave disappointed having expected a different type of alien film, but the majority will be thrilled. It's not often I give films five stars.