Whether you like it or not, we have to at least acknowledge that M. Night Shyamalan is one of the inspiring filmmakers of all time for a very specific generation of film fans and future filmmakers. He started off very strong by some even calling him “the next Steven Spielberg” but he then started to loose that momentum in the late 2000s that some then started to call him the worst thing to ever happen in Hollywood. Even with the misses he’s had with his career, we have to look at Shyamalan as a gifted and truly talented filmmaker and especially his expertise at telling a story. With Knock at the Cabin in theaters, it’s time take a look back at all Shyamalan’s most high profiled films and ranked them accordingly from worst to best (in my opinion of course). Let’s begin!
#13 AFTER EARTH
I know some want to place The Last Airbender or The Happening as Shyamalan’s worst film and honestly I wouldn’t blame anyone for making those claims. However, I’v yet to see any Shyamalan movie that was as tonally messy, tediously boring and terribly performed then After Earth. The Happening might have been a bad movie but there’s slight enjoyment to be had with how bad it was. The Last Airbender was truly awful but I’m not the die hard fan of the show so it wasn’t as offensive to me as many others felt.
It’s no contest for me. After Earth has always been the worst Shyamalan movie to date for many reasons. First of all, having this being the follow up from Shyamalan’s last film in The Last Airbender, the studio wanted to makes sure that audiences didn’t know that Shyamalan’s name was attached to this movie. In other words, you would have had to hire a private detective to find that M. Night Shyamalan directed this movie. Shyamalan’s name was being buried because people ultimately gave up on him.
The biggest problem with the movie, however, is that it’s sad when the best actor in your movie get nothing to do so everything gets handed down to his son, serving as the films lead. Jaden Smith is maybe the worst fit for a leading actor. He doesn’t have the grit or determination to fulfill that promise. Although, Will Smith gives zero emotion and any kind of expressiveness in this pile of junk that it seemed to be a loose loose whoever lead would have ended up being.
#12 THE HAPPENING
I’m honestly at disbelief on how this movie turned out to be and it’s almost unfathomable to describe to anyone who hasn’t seen it. The most interesting little tid-bit of this movie is that this was M. Night Shyamalan’s first R-rated movie. No more safe PG-13 movies anymore. We were finally going to see how hard Shyamalan could punch with a more mature rating. And while the movie is very bloody and very violent, everything about this movie comes off as hilarious which I can’t say was the film’s intentions. Is the movie taking itself seriously? Hard to say. Is it supposed to be comedy? I don’t know but it sure seems that way. I mean, for heavens above there’s a scene with Mark Wahlberg talking with a fake plant.
Some will have The Happening as Shyamalan’s worst movie and while I don’t disagree there’s one positive that I can give this movie. You can have an insane amount of fun with this, especially if you gather a bunch of your friends over and laugh along with it. We often hear the phrase “guilty pleasures” a lot with certain movies and The Happening is a perfect example of that phrase. Again, this is one of the worst movies ever made but my god it’s a ball to watch.
#11 THE LAST AIRBENDER
The first I need to preface with this particular movie is that I was never the die-hard of the show Avatar: The Last Airbender when it was in its prime. I certainty liked the show and have mad respect for it and I also fully understand the passion and love that people have for it. And yes, I still claim that After Earth and The Happening are much worse movies. But make no mistake, The Last Airbender is an exceptionally horrendous movie on so many levels. Maybe my biggest problem with The Last Airbender, and with After Earth, is that it never seemed like an original creating of M. Night Shyamalan nor did it feel like something that fits his style. Even as something as bad as The Happening, it makes more sense for Shyamalan do direct a movie of that genre than it would him to do something like The Last Airbender.
A great director wants to stretch their wings and show their creativity in other aspects. Spielberg has done it, Scorsese has done it before and even the Coen brothers have dabbled in other genres. Shyamalan should be the kind of director like a Nolan, Tarantino or a Fincher, in the sense that he should maybe stick to movies that feel like he created them himself or feel tailor made for his sensibilities. At the end of the day, The Last Airbender and After Earth feel like examples of generically made studio movies that were made by unknown filmmakers.
When it’s all set in stone, I want to see Shyamalan make movies that feel more like Signs, The Sixth Sense and or even The Visit. At this point in his career, I’m at a place where I will always give M. Night Shyamalan the benefit of the doubt. Shyamalan doing a film such as The Happening seemed to be a better fit for his style than The Last Airbender.
#10 OLD
Over the entire course of Shyamalan’s career, Old might be his most ambitious movie to date. Quality aside, this seems like the perfect fit for Shyamalan. It seemed to be a very promising experience based on the marketing for the movie, but unfortunately everything from the films execution, writing and overall performances come off as flat and unintentionally funny. The biggest complement that I can give this movie is what Shyamalan was trying to go for. He’s blending in the style of a Twilight Zone episode and I dug the ideas of some interesting social discussions about agism and certain health/mental conditions. I will also say that the movie is beautifully shot in a lot of ways. The. bummer is that the overall merits of this movie distract you from the wild incoherence and overtly serious tone that this movie has going for it.
I’m fully aware that there is a deep admiration for this movie by a smack group of people, but for me this movie doesn’t get a pass by any means. None of the characters are likable and their performances are so monotoned and expressionless that the whole crux of this movie just washes away to shore from the moment our characters step foot on the beach.
#9 GLASS
When it was revealed that Split was connected to the film Unbreakable, many people (and myself included) could not wait for Glass. Considering where the superhero movie genre was at, Glass was a sure thing to be something special and it was exciting to see Shyamalan dip his toes in a genre that was at the height of its powers. It’s not his worst film but this easily his biggest disappointment in so many ways.
The biggest issue with Glass is that it’s such an unfulfilling way to wrap up this franchise and to capitalize on the genre, or the lack there of. It felt very tiring when every single line from the movie had to refer to the characters “something from a comic-book” or “you have super speed and supernatural abilities like no other.” It’s almost as if Shyamalan needed a co-writer on this movie because it’s as if he doesn’t have a clue on what makes the superhero genre so popular and unique. When he made Unbreakable, he was making something that felt very serious and grounded which also happened to be a subtle superhero movie. It’s the complete opposite for Glass and if it weren’t for James McAvoy’s stellar performance, this movie would be even more painful to watch.
#8 LADY IN THE WATER
It’s not that I don’t like Lady in the Water, I just barely remember anything from this movie. In essence, this M. Night Shyamalan’s most forgettable movie to date. I’d honestly put this and Glass in the same sand box, in the sense that neither film make a good impression but really my biggest problem with this movie is that this is first movie where I started to notice Shyamalan would cast himself in his own movie. In this film, he cast himself as a writer who writes something so incredible that it will inspire a future president to save the world.
In principle, M. Night Shyamalan doing a psychological fantasy seems pretty ideal but it’s too self indulgent for meh taste.
#7 UNBREAKABLE
In the best way possible, Unbreakable was far ahead of its time because instead of making a superhero movie Shyamalan set out to make a good movie first. It’s a very patient movie that takes it’s time and gives our world and characters much more grounded approach. Aside from it being a good movie on all cylinders, Shyamalan created a movie that acts as a love-letter to superhero characters and superhero stories that still manages to show the human connection and human struggle all the way through. When looking at where the superhero genre was at, audiences expecting something more spectacle, action driven and characters spouting out one-liners. That’s why Glass didn’t work and why Unbreakable succeeded. It’s more about our characters and their own journeys rather than pestering the audience what kind of movie you’re making.
It’s great to see Shyamalan team up with Samuel L. Jackson and collaborate with Bruce Willis once again. With Unbreakable, Shyamalan is really trying to test his audience with some very rich and engaging storytelling that does feel unpredictable and really shocks us with powerful realization.
#6 THE VILLAGE
There’s definitely a spilt consensus on this movie and it also might be the first movie of Shyamalan’c career where people started to tinker off with him. It’s definitely the first movie of his where I myself had to take a serious pause on because at first hand I wasn’t the biggest fan of the film. I do remember, however, the marketing for the movie being more along the lines of a creature feature when in reality it’s much more of romantic and affectionate love story at the center of it all.
I think The Sixth Sense and Signs might be the better made and more coherent movie, but I do think that The Village is maybe Shyamalan’s best filmmaking effort and I think that all stems down to teaming up with cinematographer Roger Deakins. All of the lighting, the framing and editing is all teamed to their collaboration and it works in spades. I also believe that this is a very effective performance piece. It’s the biggest and boldest cast that Shyamalan has ever worked with. From Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Adrien Brody and especially Bryce Dallas Howard, they all give superb performances.
Without getting into spoiler territory, but as far as the twists and big reveals go all I’ll say is that it was definitely something that didn’t sit well with me at first hand. But as of now, I’ve come more around to it So at the end of the day, I really do love this movie. Aside from the great terror and emotion, I think my biggest issues is that it really suffers from lacking a true focus between those genres. Despite all that, I think this movie still works.
#5 SPLIT
When Shyamalan put out Split, I think most people would agree that he was back in the best way possible. Maybe The Visit was a slight turn in the right direction but it was abundantly clear that Split was a path down the right direction. It’s not only his best comeback but one of the best comebacks for any director in Hollywood. Split was a reflection of the older Shyamalan and why a lot of us fell in love with him. It reminded me how gifted and talented he is with creating tension inducing sequences and how great he is with how he decided to frame his shots.
The one thing that might give Shyamalan’s direction a run for his money is the performance that James McAvoy gives in this movie. This is easily one of his best performances ever and the idea of playing a variety of different characters in one location for the majority of the film is an astounding achievement of craft. Even Anya Taylor-Joy serves as wonderful counter part to McAvoy. The less said about Glass the better in my estimation.
#4 THE VISIT
If it were up to me, I would definitely say that The Visit was M. Night Shyamalan’s biggest and best comeback. It’s really important to look at where his career was at during this time. Between 2005 and 2013, Shyamalan put out Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth. Shyamalan’s career was practically over and it’s amazing that he was able to have career afterwards. He was doing a lot of producing work and not directing as much or even writing as frequently. What’s even more special about this movie is that Shyamalan funded The Visit by borrowing $5 million against his home. Which is almost unheard of, but considering the financial disaster of his previous three movies, studios weren’t risking to work with him.
I really love how M. Night Shyamalan pulled himself back and made something on a much smaller scale. Where Jaws made people scared of the beach, Psycho made people scared of showers and The Shining made people scared of hotels, The Visit made kids scared of their grandparents. It’s a cautionary tale about the mental health, but this was M. Night Shyamalan playing in his own backyard and giving us something that we hadn’t seen from him in ages.
#3 KNOCK AT THE CABIN
(this will be my general thoughts on Knock at the Cabin)
Knock at the Cabin is exactly what I want to see Shyamalan do more of. Not only is a vast improvement over his previous film, Old, but it’s by far away his best movie in a very long time. Knock at the Cabin is a pulse pounding, superbly performed and well executed home invasion thriller that provides a deeper subtext and provocative questions about ourselves and what were forces to do in tragic circumstances. By diving in an apocalyptic environment, Shyamalan created a story about anxiety, love, violence and how they all contradict each other with different ideologies.
On another positive note, Dave Bautista has now solidified not only his best performance but as the best WWE wrestler turned actor. This the best performance of his entire career and it shows how much passion he has for building out his acting career. But that’s shying away from Ben Aldridge and Jonathan Groff, who are both exceptional in this movie. If Shyamalan can continue in this kind of trajectory, he’s going to be on the best roll ever.
#2 THE SIXTH SENSE
Without spilling the beans as to what my favorite Shyamalan movie is there’s no denying the sheer brilliance of The Sixth Sense and how much it paved the way for his career and how general audiences perceive the notion of twists in future movies. By now, everybody knows the big twist in this movie even if people haven’t seen the movie. The Sixth Sense is remarkable in creating tension and heavy drama, this was a testament on great performances from Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. What Shyamalan did for Haley Joel Osment is what Steven Spielberg did for Drew Barrymore. Haley Joel Osment is the driving force of this entire movie and what’s ultimately shaped his career going forward.
Bruce Willis doesn’t get talked about enough in this movie. He’s great in things like Die Hard, but he’s so damn great in this and might give his most grounded and understated performance to date. There’s a reason why this Shyamalan’s most successful and most awards worthy film, its because it’s that damn good.
#1 SIGNS
I remember seeing Signs for the very first time as a little youngling. This was M. Night Shyamalan’s best way of making a Steven Spielberg movie that still at its core felt like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Where Signs was a deep psychological thriller and Unbreakable was the grounded approach of telling an unconventional superhero movie, Signs has and will forever be my favorite movie that he’s ever made. And in my estimation, Signs is his best effort in staging suspense, atmosphere and effective scares. On a technical level, Signs still looks marvelous and proficient 20+ years later.
I’m fully aware of the people who like to nitpick this movie and give it more beef than it already needs but the way Shyamalan creates tension by having scenes with unknown terror and the perplexing feeling of coincidences with the unorthodox was handled extremely well.
Zane's take at the Cinema's 