Magic Kingdom, Fear, and Looking for Signs

Fear has a way of latching onto you. At times, it can seem irrational, like the instant jolt one might experience at the sight of a harmless spider dangling from the ceiling. Still, the feeling is real and understanding it is easier said than done. Even some of history’s biggest figures have tried to grapple with it. Take FDR, for example.

He once famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It sounds like a load of bull, right? But in the right context, it can actually be quite insightful. Unfortunately, this is not the time for that context, because FDR did not truly know fear … at least not on the big screen. Classic horror films like Psycho, The Exorcist, and The Shining debuted years  after his passing. Had that not been the case, his words might have come out a little  differently:  

“The only thing we have to fear is Room 237.”

Look, let’s not minimize the situation. Times were tough back then. The country was in the midst of a depression. People were struggling and they needed words of encouragement. I mean, I could’ve used them too, just several decades later, when the stakes were infinitely lower, but the fear still hit me like a Mack truck.  All thanks to one movie, and no, it’s probably not the one you’re thinking of.

M. Night Shyamalan, it even sounds like the name of someone who knows how to pull the rug from under your feet. He did, after all, give the whole world chills with the reveal at the end of The Sixth Sense. For that alone, the man deserves our respect. And say what you will about Shyamalan's body of work, which has been shaky over the years, there is still something about the way he presents his films to the audience. His use of misdirection and the way he builds this gradual uncomfortable suspense, when coupled with his visual direction, can be quite an impactful experience to watch unfold on screen.  

That’s why it’s no surprise that Shyamalan’s movies have become synonymous with the horror genre, even if he doesn’t quite agree with that categorization. What is certain, though, is that unnerving feeling I get when watching his films – none more memorable than the paralyzing fear I endured after taking in his 2002 hit, Signs.

Here's a little context. It’s no coincidence that Signs scared the piss out of me. It was always destined to. In fact, the seeds had already been planted years before the film saw the light of day. And it was all because of one man: Walter Elias Disney. 

Okay, that’s not entirely true. But it was an experience had at one of the theme parks that are aptly named after him. Perhaps some of you out there know where I’m going with this. It was a particular ride at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom called ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. 

Looking back, the name alone should have set off some alarms, but come on, it’s Disney, surely it’s got to be kid friendly. It wasn’t. Unless your idea of kid friendly is being strapped into your seat while watching a demonstration where a big menacing mechanical bug-like alien gets unleashed on the audience.

It was startling to say the least. Therapists today might throw out the word traumatic, but this was the 90s and no one was safe even at Disney World.

Really, what the experience did was open Pandora's box. What in the hell was that thing? Could there be something like that out there? There were more questions than answers, and by the  time Signs came out years later I had already been down a dark extraterrestrial rabbit hole. We’re talking about UFO sightings, abduction stories, basically anything I could find. And yes, going down this path did frighten me more, but I also couldn’t stop feeding my curiosity.

So naturally, when the opportunity presented itself I couldn’t not watch Signs. Honestly, how bad could it be? Besides, I was a teenager by then. I had seen some stuff, in the movies, that is. 

To this day there are two scenes from the movie that still haunt me. The first is after the crop circles start to appear in the Hess family's cornfield, which is dismissed as vandals. The scene in question is when Mel Gibson’s character is chasing one of the “vandals” through the field at night, only to get a glimpse of a strange figure among the corn stalks. It’s brief and easy to miss, but it’s a spine tingler nonetheless. That’s why you won’t catch me in any cornfields at night. No thanks.

The second is the big, shock reveal. After all the unidentified lights start to appear all over the globe, the news broadcast cuts to footage showing one of these beings emerge from behind the bushes at what looks to be a kids' birthday party. And exactly like Joaquin Phoenix's character in the movie I remember jumping back out of my chair at the reveal, heart racing at what felt like a thousand beats per minute. Honestly, birthday parties haven’t quite felt the same  ever since, or tall bushes for that matter.

To say Signs had its intended effect on me would be an understatement.  No matter how many times I’ve seen it over the years I can’t watch the movie without getting flustered, even now having  realized just how silly the aliens in the movie actually are.  Think about it. They come all the way to earth with seemingly no advanced weaponry, plus their biggest weakness is water, which covers 70 percent of the planet. I don’t know, it  just seems like their invasion plan was a little undercooked. 

What is not undercooked in my opinion is how the film uses the supernatural to reach the audience. Not just with the alien threat, but also with the Hess family themselves. When we are first introduced to the Hess family they’ve  already been through a lot in their personal lives. Its patriarch Graham Hess (Gibson) is a former reverend who has lost his faith following the tragic death of his wife. He along with his two kids (played by Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) and his brother (Phoenix) live on a secluded farm. They’re all just trying to cope in the aftermath of losing a loved one when they're suddenly forced into confronting something inexplicable. 

As the story unravels, the family's bond and resolve are tested. The movie's title Signs lends itself to an even deeper message as in the midst of the invasion the family starts to realize that events from their pasts start to connect to the present. These “signs” seem to imply that some kind of greater plan is at work. 

Ultimately, this only adds to the intrigue of everything that we see unfolding on screen. No doubt the elements of horror and the aliens are what initially draw viewers in, but it's the other aspects of the plot, like its exploration of faith and familial bonds, that end up cutting deeper. For me, it took a while for that part of the film to hit home. That freaky alien emerging from the bushes at the birthday party did a number on my sleep schedule. Once that initial fear fades, though, you can start peeling back the layers. Maybe you even start seeing the signs that, even in moments of great uncertainty, hope and conviction can still be found. And hey, if aliens ever really invade Earth, fingers crossed that your garden hose is enough to ward them off.