Does everything happen for a reason? And if everything does happen for a reason, is there a higher power that is in control? These questions basically form the crux of M. Night Shyamalan´s appropriately titled "Signs". Like Mr. Shyamalan´s previous two films, the supernatural becomes a forum for exploration of human self-identity.

The film opens up with Graham Hess (Mel Gibson), a priest who has left the parish after an accident caused by Ray Reddy (Mr. Shyamalan himself) kills Hess´ wife (Patricia Kalember). Graham now lives with his two children - Bo (Abigail Breslin) and Morgan (Rory Culkin)as well his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), who moved in to help out the family. Intricate crop circles start appearing in the family´s fields, and they hear on the news that circles are starting to appear all over India. Merrill theorizes that they are caused by a secret society of guys without girlfriends. Graham thinks it is a prank played by neighbors until he starts to see (he thinks) aliens. And Morgan and Bo are convinced from the very beginning that they are caused by aliens, so they buy a book on aliens and start to believe every word the book says. The fomerly broken baby monitor in their house starts to pick up odd noises. Is the world really under attack by aliens? This question is answered half-way through the movie. But "Signs" is about much more than that.

Graham has renounced God after his wife´s death and constantly thinks about his last moments with her. Bo has an obsession with germs in water and constantly pours new glasses for herself, which she leaves laying around the house. Merrill is a former minor league baseball player whose sole claim to fame was the speed/strength with which he could hit. And Morgan has asthma for which he constantly requires medication. Are all of the above statements connected? Mr. Shyamalan seems to show that they are. But is this just coincidence or are they "signs"?

At a tense moment, Graham poses the real question to Merrill. He says that there are two kinds of people. There are those who believe that everything happens for a reason and that we are not alone; and there are those who believe that we live in metaphysical solitude. There are people with faith and without it. Graham has to figure out which group he belongs to. And he does in the chilling climax.

The ensemble cast - from Mel Gibson to impressive newcomer Abigail Breslin - are first-rate here. Whether they are huddled around the table crying over their miseries or climbing on top of a car with a baby monitor trying to get a better alien signal, they are convincing. (What is it about Mr. Shyamalan that is able to extract such great performances from such young kids?)

This film belongs to Mr. Shyamalan all the way. Every detail of each shot - the pace, camera angle, music - mingles together to form just the right mood. We see little in way of special effects but Mr. Shyamalan knows that it is what we don´t see that scares us the most and he takes full advantage of this. His intricate script seems flawless and at times he even pokes fun at his own genre (when the paranoia leads to rediculous extents). But it is the soul of the film mentioned above that ties the film together and has the audience member pondering over it long after Graham finds his own answers.