Continuity mistake: When the deputy sheriff comes out of the house, her ink pen is sticking through the hole in her pocket flap but not in the pocket itself. After she turns around at the car, her ink pen is inside her pocket and not "flapping" loose as it was just a split second before. (00:21:15)
Signs (2002)
Plot summary
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin, Rory Culkin
Graham Hess and his young son and daughter, Morgan and Bo, struggle to recover from the tragic death of Graham’s wife. A neighbor struck and killed her with his car when he fell asleep at the wheel. Graham’s younger brother, Merrill, has been staying with the family. Devastated and bitter, Graham, a reverend, believes God betrayed him, and he has abandoned his ministry.
Mysterious crop circles appear on the Hess' farm and soon the world over. Alien scouts are spotted, and before long, ships arrive from outer space. With TV and radio their only link to the outside world, the isolated Hess family watch in horror as the alien threat turns into a deadly close encounter. The hostile beings are galactic raiders who harvest planetary life forms. With invasion imminent, the family barricade themselves inside the house. As the aliens are breaking in, they retreat to the cellar.
More mistakes in Signs
Graham Hess: Swing away Merrill. Merrill... swing away.
Trivia: Some of the artwork done by Bo in the film was actually done by Shyamalan's daughter, Salek.
Question: I don't get it. What was the purpose of the aliens coming to Earth? And what exactly happened to them? Where did they go?
Answer: Near the end of the movie... The morning after in the basement... The guy on the radio says the aliens were there not for the planet, but to harvest humans. For what purpose is unknown, maybe as an energy source, Matrix-style.
Chosen answer: According to the theory in the movie they were there to take the planet for their own because they used up all the resources their own planet. They left the planet when it became apparent to them that the water on Earth was too dangerous.
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Answer: It's left unclear, though the film proposes several possible theories, and there are other possible explanations as well. One major theory brought up in the film is that the aliens were there to acquire Earth's resources after using up their own. Another theory proposed at the end of the movie is that the aliens wanted humans for whatever reason, as a radio DJ mentions seeing his friend's family being dragged away. There is also a very popular fan theory that the aliens are supposed to represent demons that are merely there to create chaos and test the moral strength of humanity, as the film is ultimately about Graham losing and then regaining his faith, although this is more subtext than anything and may not be literally true.