The Films of M Night Shyamalan

[BAYLOR]

What do you think of his films and, which are your favorites?

 

[BAYLOR]

The man who gave us such films as The Sixth Sense , Unbreakable and Sing , the Village, The Happening , Lady in the Water, After Earth Ect

The twist ending .

 

[Foxbat]

The problem with his movies are the endings. You know there’s going to be a twist and therefore often are able to work it out.

I remember when Sixth Sense was released, people kept saying to me ’you’ll never guess the ending’. When folk say things like that, it kind of guides you past the obvious plot resolutions and increases your chances of getting it right. And guess what? I figured out the ending.

I think, of the ones I’ve seen, Unbreakable is the one I liked best.

 

[BAYLOR]

Signs started out brilliantly and it just fell apart.

 

[Valtharius]

I haven't seen any of his pictures, but whenever I see the name I think of this

Cc: @alexvss
I think you'll appreciate it, even if nobody else does.

 

[Rodders]

I've not yet seen a single M. Night Shyalaman movie, yet.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I think his movies are hit and miss. I enjoyed The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, and Split. I haven't seen The Visit, Wide Awake, Glass, The Last Airbender, After Earth, or Old. The rest are kind of cringey for me--for example: He really made that choice after all that thought? At best, they are somewhat clever, and, at worst, cheesy and predictable beyond belief. I would warn one to forgo seeing The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening, and Devil.

One good thing about all of his films is that they appear to be very genuine and spirited.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I like his movies, but I always approach them trying to know as little as possible about them. I can't say there are any that I have not enjoyed. I also really enjoyed The Village and The Happening, but I can understand why people may dislike them.

 

[BT Jones]

I have to say I love Unbreakable. Saw it a year or two ago for the first time in probably 15 years and loved it.
Signs is a classic for me, too; a small scale, personal story. I have to say I disagree with @BAYLOR that it fell apart. For my taste, sure, I found the twist a little far-fetched at first, but seeing it again recently, I thought it was more a riff on spiritual beliefs. To interpret something that could have been pure co-incidence and interpretation as a miracle or a sign from God is really just in the eye of the beholder.

6th Sense is a classic chiller. His movies get patchy thereafter. The Village was decent and atmospheric but dragged a little bit. I don't remember Lady in the Water that well. I didn't hate The Happening, but it was underwhelming. And I thought After Earth didn't deserve the hate it got, although it was heavily flawed. I think his best late-era movie is Split, thanks mainly to James McEvoy's terrific performance. Glass was a massive letdown by comparison, for my taste.

I haven't got round to his TV show yet. Is it any good?

 

[BAYLOR]

I have to say I love Unbreakable. Saw it a year or two ago for the first time in probably 15 years and loved it.
Signs is a classic for me, too; a small scale, personal story. I have to say I disagree with @BAYLOR that it fell apart. For my taste, sure, I found the twist a little far-fetched at first, but seeing it again recently, I thought it was more a riff on spiritual beliefs. To interpret something that could have been pure co-incidence and interpretation as a miracle or a sign from God is really just in the eye of the beholder.

6th Sense is a classic chiller. His movies get patchy thereafter. The Village was decent and atmospheric but dragged a little bit. I don't remember Lady in the Water that well. I didn't hate The Happening, but it was underwhelming. And I thought After Earth didn't deserve the hate it got, although it was heavily flawed. I think his best late-era movie is Split, thanks mainly to James McEvoy's terrific performance. Glass was a massive letdown by comparison, for my taste.

I haven't got round to his TV show yet. Is it any good?

Signs begs the quarto of, why would aliens who are allergic to water , invade a planet that's mostly water in the first place ?

After Earth is actual a pretty decent science Fiction film

I found Wayward Pines quite good. It had a nasty concept .It ran 2 season and 20 episodes. I think you'd like it .

 

[Guttersnipe]

He didn't direct Devil, but he did come up with the story. The Happening just made me laugh; the written dialogue could've been better and the actors didn't carry it well enough for me. The Village I didn't think was as bad, but it would've worked better as a romance than a horror film. I think less people would've been let down by the ending. Shyamalan himself said he didn't like the way it was advertised.

 

[BT Jones]

Signs begs the quarto of, why would aliens who are allergic to water , invade a planet that's mostly water in the first place ?

After Earth is actual a pretty decent science Fiction film

I found Wayward Pines quite good. It had a nasty concept .It ran 2 season and 20 episodes. I think you'd like it .

Good point @BAYLOR. I suppose that was why they ended up leaving, but they surely should have seen it from space and known what it was; unless they thought it was perhaps a different liquid they weren't allergic to. I forgot he was involved in Wayward Pines; I remember watching the pilot but nothing after that.

He didn't direct Devil, but he did come up with the story. The Happening just made me laugh; the written dialogue could've been better and the actors didn't carry it well enough for me. The Village I didn't think was as bad, but it would've worked better as a romance than a horror film. I think less people would've been let down by the ending. Shyamalan himself said he didn't like the way it was advertised.

Yes, @Guttersnipe, The Village just ran out of steam. I liked the eerie, Sleepy Hollow-style atmosphere, but it definitely wasted some fine actors in essentially bit part roles (Brody, Weaver, Gleason, Cherry Jones). I guess every creative is at the mercy of the advertisers, ultimately.

 

[biodroid]

Signs, The Village and Sixth Sense are my favourites.

 

[BAYLOR]

Old was a really strange film.

 

[KGeo777]

I knew the twist in the Sixth Sense before I saw it so it didn't play well for me. It was frustrating because I could see how it was manipulating things to protect the twist. The story could not involve me since I knew what coming.


Unbreakable was more memorable since the twist was a surprise. "I'm Mr Glass!"
But not on my rewatch list.

 

[BAYLOR]

I knew the twist in the Sixth Sense before I saw it so it didn't play well for me. It was frustrating because I could see how it was manipulating things to protect the twist. The story could not involve me since I knew what coming.


Unbreakable was more memorable since the twist was a surprise. "I'm Mr Glass!"
But not on my rewatch list.

Twist endings tend to lose their impact with second viewings.

 

[KGeo777]

Yes they do but they still can be entertaining.
I think the ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978--I look forward to the ending when I re-watch it.

But the journey to it is fun too.
Would I call the Sixth Sense or Unbreakable a fun journey?
I don't think so.
All I remember is the twist.

 

[BAYLOR]

Yes they do but they still can be entertaining.
I think the ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978--I look forward to the ending when I re-watch it.

But the journey to it is fun too.
Would I call the Sixth Sense or Unbreakable a fun journey?
I don't think so.
All I remember is the twist.

He comes up with interesting concepts and visuals but he's not great on the writing end of things.

 

[JunkMonkey]

I liked The Sixth Sense, don't remember a thing about Unbreakable, and hated The Village. I was on tour and everyone I was with wanted to see it and as I was the only one insured to drive the van I had to go along. I worked out the twist in the first five minutes - actually 'worked out' implies I put some effort into it. I didn't. It was just so bloody obvious from the start what was going on. The next three or four hours were one of the least edifying experiences I've ever had in a cinema as I waited and watched 'the clues' nailed up. I stopped looking at his films after that.

I suspect he would have been really happy working with Rod Serling on The Twilight Zone because what I have seen of his films just struck me as over-extended episodes of the show.

 

[BAYLOR]

I liked The Sixth Sense, don't remember a thing about Unbreakable, and hated The Village. I was on tour and everyone I was with wanted to see it and as I was the only one insured to drive the van I had to go along. I worked out the twist in the first five minutes - actually 'worked out' implies I put some effort into it. I didn't. It was just so bloody obvious from the start what was going on. The next three or four hours were one of the least edifying experiences I've ever had in a cinema as I waited and watched 'the clues' nailed up. I stopped looking at his films after that.

I suspect he would have been really happy working with Rod Serling on The Twilight Zone because what I have seen of his films just struck me as over-extended episodes of the show.

If he had as production partner someone like a Rods Serling who knew well the mechanic of good writing to combine is vials and style of direction. That would be something I would love to see !