2002
Grieving the loss of his wife, former reverend Graham Hess lives on a farm with his brother and children, where they discover a mysterious crop circle, signaling an impending alien invasion. As global reports confirm the extraterrestrial threat, the family barricades themselves indoors, enduring escalating attacks while Morgan suffers a severe asthma attack. A creature breaches their home, but Merrill, recalling his sister-in-law's dying words and Bo's aversion to water, uses a baseball bat and water to defeat the alien, saving Morgan from its poisonous gas. The family emerges, their faith restored, as the water-vulnerable aliens retreat from Earth, revealing Colleen's final message was a prophetic sign.
Save the Cat beat sheet
SIGNS follows a grieving family as unexplained screams and crop circles introduce an alien threat.
Open full beat sheetGraham Hess is listed as Protagonist. Former reverend, father of Morgan and Bo, brother of Merrill. In the parsed data, Graham Hess is connected to 53 scenes, 135 dialogue lines, 135 text mentions, first appearing around scene 21.
53 scenes / 135 dialogue linesMerrill Hess is listed as Supporting. Graham's younger brother, former minor league baseball player. In the parsed data, Merrill Hess is connected to 39 scenes, 60 dialogue lines, 60 text mentions, first appearing around scene 7.
39 scenes / 60 dialogue linesBo Hess is listed as Supporting. Graham's four-year-old daughter. In the parsed data, Bo Hess is connected to 32 scenes, 14 dialogue lines, 14 text mentions, first appearing around scene 8.
32 scenes / 14 dialogue linesMorgan Hess is listed as Supporting. Graham's ten-year-old son, suffers from asthma. In the parsed data, Morgan Hess is connected to 31 scenes, 46 dialogue lines, 46 text mentions, first appearing around scene 7.
31 scenes / 46 dialogue linesOfficer Edgar Paski is listed as Supporting. Local police officer. In the parsed data, Officer Edgar Paski is connected to 6 scenes, 9 dialogue lines, 9 text mentions, first appearing around scene 21.
6 scenes / 9 dialogue linesColleen Hess is listed as Deceased. Graham's late wife. In the parsed data, Colleen Hess is connected to 2 scenes, 11 dialogue lines, 11 text mentions, first appearing around scene 61.
2 scenes / 11 dialogue linesRay Reddy is listed as Supporting. Local man who accidentally killed Graham's wife. In the parsed data, Ray Reddy is connected to 1 scene, 6 dialogue lines, 7 text mentions, first appearing around scene 37.
1 scenes / 6 dialogue linesA view of the backyard and cornfield, followed by a distant scream.
Graham wakes up and investigates the house.
Graham HessGraham checks on the children's room.
Graham HessGraham hears another scream while brushing his teeth.
Graham HessGraham finds the children's room empty.
Graham HessMerrill wakes up to the children's screams.
Merrill HessGraham and Merrill search for the children.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessGraham and Merrill find Bo and Morgan in the cornfield.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham talks to Lee on the phone and meets Officer Paski.
Graham Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo Hess, Officer Edgar PaskiThe children and the dog have a dangerous encounter.
Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham and Officer Paski inspect the crop circle.
Graham Hess, Officer Edgar PaskiGraham finds the dog dead and comforts his children.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo Hess, Officer Edgar PaskiGraham talks to his deceased wife.
Graham HessThe crickets stop, signaling something is wrong.
Bo wakes Graham up.
Graham Hess, Bo HessGraham sees a figure on the roof.
Graham Hess, Bo HessGraham wakes Merrill to confront the intruder.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessGraham and Merrill plan to confront the intruder.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessGraham and Merrill chase the intruder.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessOfficer Paski returns to interview them.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo Hess, Officer Edgar PaskiOfficer Paski talks to Graham about the hoaxes and advises him to take his family into town to get their minds off recent tragedies.
Graham Hess, Officer Edgar PaskiThe Hess family drives through the countryside; Graham turns off the radio to avoid news reports.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe family arrives in town; Graham gives Morgan money for a book and they split up.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessMorgan and Bo visit a bookstore to find a book on extraterrestrials.
Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham picks up medicine for Morgan and is asked by the pharmacist to hear her confession.
Graham HessMerrill visits an army recruiting office and discusses baseball records.
Merrill HessThe family sees the man who killed Graham's wife.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe family uses a baby monitor to listen to strange signals.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham investigates the cornfield and encounters something.
Graham HessThe family watches news reports about lights over Mexico City.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham finds Merrill in the closet with the TV; they discuss the disappearance of the lights.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessMerrill and Graham discuss the alien situation and the crop circles while watching news footage of birds hitting an invisible barrier.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessGraham prepares for the day and observes his children whispering in the next room.
Graham HessGraham talks to Morgan and Bo, who are wearing tin foil hats to protect their minds from aliens.
Graham Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham tells Merrill he is going to Ray Reddy's house.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessMorgan and Bo discuss their fears while looking through a telescope.
Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham visits Ray Reddy, who is sitting in his truck, traumatized.
Graham Hess, Ray ReddyMerrill watches news footage of an alien creature in Brazil.
Merrill HessGraham investigates the pantry at Ray Reddy's house and encounters an alien.
Graham HessGraham finds a dead bird on the road and realizes the danger.
Graham HessGraham returns home and discusses the situation with his family.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessMerrill practices his baseball swing while the family prepares to board up the house.
Merrill HessThe family watches news reports of alien lights appearing globally.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessMerrill stands alone in the hall, processing the situation.
Merrill HessMorgan turns off the television.
Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham sits by the window, thinking.
Graham HessThe family plans their final preparations and meal.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe kitchen is boarded up.
The family shares a final meal together.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessMerrill and Graham board up the bedroom doors.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessGraham discovers the emergency broadcast on the TV and informs Merrill and the children that the invasion is happening.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessMerrill and Graham board up the bedroom doors.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham watches creatures trampling through the cornfield from his window.
Graham Hess, Merrill HessGraham tells Bo and Morgan stories about their births while finishing the barricade.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe family hears the dog Isabelle stop barking and realizes the creatures are at the door.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham and Merrill struggle to keep the attic trapdoor closed.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe family barricades the kitchen and prepares to move to the basement.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe family hides in the basement, and Morgan suffers an asthma attack.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThe family learns via radio that the creatures are withdrawing.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessA creature confronts the family in the family room.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessFlashback to the night of Colleen's accident.
Graham Hess, Officer Edgar Paski, Colleen HessGraham finds his dying wife Colleen pinned by a truck.
Graham Hess, Colleen HessMerrill fights the creature using a baseball bat and water.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessGraham carries Morgan out of the house.
Graham Hess, Morgan HessMerrill finishes off the creature.
Merrill Hess, Bo HessMorgan wakes up, and the family reunites.
Graham Hess, Merrill Hess, Morgan Hess, Bo HessThere are all different ways you can tell that there's someone really there watching out for us. You see signs. Sometimes they're little ones. You think of someone. The phone rings. They're on the phone... Sometimes they're big, like fourteen lights hovering over Mexico City. Sure, there are a lot of people watching this who think this could be a bad thing. But there are a lot of people watching this, who think it's a miracle. A sign of God's existence. It's all in how you look at things Merrill. What you have to decide is what kind of person you are? Are you the type who believes in miracles and looks for signs or are you the kind who believes, things just happen by chance?
I worked so long that night. I ain't never fallen asleep driving before. And never since. Most of the ride home, there wasn't a car insight in either direction. If I'd fallen asleep then, I'd a ended up in a ditch with a head ache. It had to happen at that right moment. That certain ten-fifteen seconds when I passed her walking. It was like it was meant to be.
You know about signs Morgan? Not like the ones people write on. It's like if you poured a glass of milk and you dropped the glass by mistake and broke it before you could drink it. Then you looked at the milk carton and saw that the milk was spoiled. They're things that happen by chance or luck, but make you feel that someone's watching out for you.
She won't be saved. At this point she's alive, because the truck is holding her together. She doesn't feel much, and she's talking almost like normal. We didn't pull the truck out, cause we wanted you to come down here to be with her, as long as she's awake. That won't be very long. Father, you understand what I've told you?
Yes. They would invade us using only ground tactics. Hand to hand combat. They wouldn't use their technology or fight an airborne battle, because they would know we would eventually use nuclear weapons and the planet would be useless to them.
It says they're probably very small -- like my height -- because, as their brains developed, there was no use for physical development. It says they're probably vegetarians, because they would have realized the benefits of such a diet.
We can choose to believe it and pack up and leave. Or we can stay here. Board up this house. Hide inside our home and wait it out. Either way, at least we'll be together. All those in favor of the lake, raise your hand.
I wrote your number down to call you. It's been sitting next to the phone for six months. When I knew it was inside the house, I couldn't think of any other number to call. I panicked. Thank you for coming Father.
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