Reddit user ZorroMeansFox has a wonderfully wild fan theory that will completely change your perspective on M. Night Shyamalan's creepy thriller, Signs.The theory posits that, contrary to popular belief, the movie isn't actually about aliens at all, but is a religious tale concerning the invasion of demons. Check it out:
Notice it’s all about a priest’s resurgence of belief, and a preordained moment of redemption-if-dared-and-attempted. There is no alien technology or weaponry or clothing of any kind, only a clawed, naked beast creature and lights in the sky.Pretty crazy, huh?
Personal demons
ZorroMeansFox bolsters his argument by pointing out the fact that each character perceives the invaders according to their own point of view, i.e. each is battling their personal demons:
The running joke throughout the movie is that people see these “invaders” in a way that’s related to their particular frame of mind: The cop sees them as prankster kids, the bookstore owners see them as “a hoax to sell commercials,” the Army recruitment officer sees them as invading military, the kids see them as UFOs…and the priest sees them as test of faith.Wow, my appreciation for the movie is actually increasing!
It's holy water that ultimately defeats the creature
When I first watched the movie, I was a little underwhelmed by its conclusion. I mean, you spend a whole movie building up to a full on confrontation with the 'aliens', only for one to be defeated by a measly glass of tap water! But what if it wasn't just ordinary H2O?The priest’s daughter had been referred to as “holy” (as revealed during Mel’s key monologue)–recognized by all who saw her at her birth as “an Angel;” and her quite particular relationship to water is shown to be very special and spiritual: In other words, she has placed vials of what are, essentially, HOLY WATER all around the house. (And the creature’s reaction when coming in contact with this blessed liquid is EXACTLY like monsters/vampires being splashed by spiritual “acid.”)That totally makes sense now!
Feeding on fear
ZorroMeansFox is careful to specify that while the mysterious invaders may actually be physical aliens, they are ultimately a manifestation of humanity's fears:Now –these creatures may for all intents and purposes be some sort of extraterrestrial or inter-dimensional “aliens” –but the point of the movie seems to be that they are, in the ACTUALITY OF THE FILM WORLD, the dark stuff from which all the character’s tales of devils and night-creatures were born.