The Hand of Fate

Hands down, my favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie is Signs. The humor, the humanity, and the early fall scenery of Pennsylvania (my home state) just get me every time; it’s a film I find myself returning to every single autumn. Beyond the visuals, the soundtrack by composer James Newton Howard is nothing short of a masterpiece—especially the final sequence, “The Hand of Fate (Parts 1 and 2).”

M. Night is a minimalist by nature who favors lean filmmaking. He famously (and begrudgingly) had to use CGI in Signs, and he often struggles with the role of music in his work. In fact, he typically cuts his films so they “work” entirely without a score. Only then does he approach James Newton Howard to begin the music.

If you’re so inclined, there is an excellent behind-the-scenes featurette from the film where you can actually see the tenuous minuet of their egos as they collaborate.

Signs opens with a sharp, Hitchcockian three-note motif. While the introduction feels sinister, that same motif is later transformed into a series of melodic arpeggios that provide the emotional “heart” of the final scene. This evolution is perfectly captured in “The Hand of Fate – Part II.”

On a personal note, I have a strong belief in God; I pray and meditate daily. Ultimately, I think the reason I resonate so much with Signs is that the film is profoundly spiritual. Shyamalan pulled off the unthinkable here: a creepy, fun alien-invasion movie that remains deeply rooted in faith.

In 2023, James Newton Howard released an album called Night After Night, which invites listeners back into the eerie, suspenseful worlds of Shyamalan’s filmography. The album features stunning, reimagined themes from across the cinematic universe. Two pieces in particular are breathtaking:

The Village: Morning, and Signs: The Hand of Fate

You might also like to play…

The Village: The Gravel Road | fingerstyle guitar + TAB

How to play The Hand of Fate | fingerstyle guitar

The guitar tab for The Hand of Fate is beautifully written across 4 pages, and played straight through without repeats. I recommend this for intermediate guitar players and up — as the 3-note intervals are pretty relentless throughout the piece. Enjoy! The guitar tab is available below:

In an effort to make the guitar tab uncluttered and easy to read, I used a ( . . . . ) to denote that an interval is played 4 x. Likewise ( . . . .  . . . . ) indicates that the interval is played 8x. It’s all pretty obvious.

[guitar tab] **Signs (2002): The Hand of Fate | fingerstyle guitar

This arrangement is played in an inverted Drop D tuning. You guitar will be tuned like this, from low to high: E A D G B (D)