Stream One Of The Greatest Alien Invasion Movies Of All Time Without Netflix
M. Night Shyamalan may now be viewed as a one-trick-pony, but those of us who remember him in his prime will never forget the way his sharp and calculated twists could shock an entire theater into an in-unison gasp. Just a few years after the filmmaker blew our collective minds with the twist to end all other twists in The Sixth Sense, he was at it again with 2002’s Signs. If you have yet to check out the alien invasion feature, do yourself a favor and head over to Max where the title is now streaming.
A Father Graplling With His Faith
Like so many of his movies, M. Night Shyamalan set the scene for Signs in Eastern Pennsylvania, this time on a farm owned by an ex-Episcopalian priest named Father Graham Hess (Mel Gibson). Graham recently left the church after his wife passed away in a tragic car accident, leaving him to take care of their two children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). Luckily, Graham has some help as his younger brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), moved in to help out following the death of Graham’s wife.
The Signs Of Invasion
Everything is going as well as it could be for the grieving family when, one day, they wake up to see that there are crop circles in their cornfield. At first, certain that it’s a prank, the Hess’ don’t pay much attention to it but the circles ultimately serve as one of many signs that an alien invasion is about to begin. When the extra-terrestrial lifeforms land on Earth, all hell breaks loose for not just the Hess family but every living thing on Earth.
M. Night Shyamalan At His Best
Signs is a peak M. Night Shyamalan film, boasting a stacked leading cast, an unsettling plot filled with eerie vibes, and a twist that left jaws on the floor. The feature marked yet another hit for the director’s ever-growing repertoire sheet, shortly followed by other classics like The Village and Lady in the Water. At the box office, Shyamalan’s dip into alien-centered sci-fi raked in some impressive cash, landing a haul of more than $408 million against its $72 billion production budget.
A Certified Hit
Likewise, the movie holds a Certified Fresh critics approval rating of 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with an onslaught of positive reviews pouring in from critics around the world. To be frank, in those days a movie really knew that it had left its stamp on pop culture not because of financial gains or critical reviews but by whether or not it landed in the spoof film series Scary Movie. Not only was Signs referenced in the silly franchise’s third installment but its storyline carried a good chunk of the plot, marking it as a winner.
Streaming On Max
The late ‘90s and early 2000s were truly the good ol’ days for M. Night Shyamalan, with Signs being one of the director’s last major hits. In the last 20 years, the twists have been much less surprising and the plots not as intriguing as they once were. But, we’ll always have Joaquin Phoenix swinging a baseball bat like a madman in Signs. And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, you can head over to Max now to stream one of the last great films to come from Shyamalan – for now.
