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14.
The horror/thriller genre is exciting because it is constantly morphing to fit the new things that scare us. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, slasher flicks were popular because of the uptick in serial killers in the United States. At the dawn of the 21st century, apocalyptic thrillers started trending as many believed the world was coming to an end. However, regardless of your favorite flavor of the genre, one name will always evoke the same gut-wrenching feeling: M. Night Shyamalan. When you see the Philadelphia-raised director’s name flash in the opening credits, you know you’re in for some shit.
Throughout his career spanning more than 20 years, Shyamalan has taken psychological thrillers and shaped them in his own demented image. He came out the gate hot with his first major feature film, The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis, and continued on one of the cleanest directorial streaks to date with Unbreakable and Signs immediately following. Shyamalan’s captivating storytelling method of leading his audience in one direction and then jerking them utterly perpendicular from the original course is what made his movies so enthralling. A twist ending is always promised and trying to figure out how you got there is the fun of a Shyamalan film. Paired with his elite character writing and complex story setup, it made him one of the best directors of the early 2000s. And like the late Stan Lee, Shyamalan always makes a cameo appearance in his films, which are often set in his hometown of Philadelphia. Despite his fall from grace in the early 2010s with a cold streak of films, it always felt like Shyamalan would be able to redeem himself.
Getting back on course in 2016 with Split and closing his Unbreakable trilogy with Glass in 2019, and later Old in 2021, Shyamalan is back to reclaim his spot in the pantheon of psychological thrillers with his latest endeavor, Knock at the Cabin. The feature film is centered around a family being held hostage and both husbands must choose who to sacrifice in order to prevent the apocalypse. With Knock at the Cabin in theaters this week, we decided to rank all M. Night Shyamalan movies, from worst to best. We will see where his latest falls on the list after its release.
13.'The Last Airbender'
Starring: Dev Patel, Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone
Box Office: $319.7 Million USD
Release date: July 1, 2010
Rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 5% (Critics), 30% (Audience)
Teaming up with Nickelodeon to direct the live-action adaptation of Book One of the popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shyamalan sullies the source material with irresponsible, white-washed casting, inaccurate storytelling, and a complete disregard for what the animated series meant to so many. From the erroneous depiction of bending the elements to main characters like Aang, Katara, and Sokka all having the life sucked out of them, Shyamalan missed the mark in a significant way here. Even the actual bending looks terrible. But lousy CGI and bending choreography aside, what Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender lacks the most is heart. Book One: Water of Avatar: The Last Airbender was an emotional rollercoaster that explored each character’s ambitions, traumas, and, ultimately, how they came together to grow. No $150 million budget can make up for that, and that is one reason why The Last Airbender sits in the movie memes hall of fame as a golden example of what not to do when adapting a popular animated series.
12.'The Happening'
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley.
Box Office: $163.4 Million USD
Release date: June 10, 2008
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 17% (Critics), 24% (Audience)
The year 2008 was marked by end-of-days films like Cloverfield and The Day the Earth Stood Still, so Shyamalan tried his hand at the popular horror subgenre with The Happening, a movie about millions of people suddenly committing mass suicides because of some invisible force. The Happening could have laid the blueprint for the popular 2018 Netflix sci-fi thriller Bird Box, but the film falters because it spells the entire story out for the audience. While it does come suited with Shyamalan’s patented plot twist in the third act, it felt more confusing and lazy than revelatory. That coupled with uninspiring performances and a very linear plot that left little to the imagination (“the happening” was really only going on in the United States?) makes The Happening one of the more forgettable films in Shyamalan’s catalog.
11.'Lady in the Water'
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeffrey Wright, M. Night Shyamalan(?)
Box Office: $72.8 Million USD
Release date: July 21, 2006
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 25% (Critics), 49% (Audience)
Shyamalan said the idea for The Lady in the Water came about from a bedtime story he’d tell his daughters. He’d add new, wonky elements to it every time he retold it. That makes sense because the movie feels like a cacophony of random fairytales all mixed together. From the convoluted storytelling to the fact that Shyamalan made himself the hero of his own movie, Lady in the Water never gets a chance to find its own identity. The best thing about the film is that it’s imaginative, but the cure to writer’s block is meeting a mermaid? Hard pass.
10.'After Earth'
Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith
Box Office: $243.8 Million USD
Release date: May 31, 2013
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 11% (Critics), 36% (Audience)
Unpopular opinion, but After Earth wasn’t that bad. Sure, it has a really weird, convoluted plot where Will and Jaden Smith (who both have painfully bad sci-fi names) are enthralled in some war with aliens that can sense fear, but my case for it not being at the bottom of the list stands on some of the dope dialogue between the two. It may not be The Pursuit of Happyness, but the chemistry between father and son is still palpable, even though Will barely gets any screentime. After Earth is a coming-of-age movie carried by the fact that Will and Jaden are related. Does the film as a whole work? Not really, but Will’s speech to Jaden toward the end about fear not being real feels like something straight out of those 20-minute inspirational YouTube compilation videos. That should be enough to help you get through the CGI monsters, random subplots, and lack of any real lesson learned.
9.'Glass'
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy
Box Office: $247 Million USD
Release date: January 18, 2019
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 37% (Critics), 67% (Audience)
When examining the entire Unbreakable trilogy, Glass is the least exciting despite it being centered around the most exciting character, Mr. Glass. The film had too much on its plate and folded under its own lofty expectations. The concept was dope, especially after all of the hype that Split generated, but the delivery fell short. The anti-superhero Illuminati subplot felt really unnecessary, Bruce Willis’ character gets watered down in the final act, literally, and James McAvoy’s Kevin getting defeated could elicit an audible groan.
However, the bright moments in Glass come in the scenes where Shyamalan plays to his strengths and stitches previous storylines together in unpredictable ways. Mr. Glass inadvertently creating The Beast by killing Kevin’s dad in the train wreck from Unbreakable was a dope twist, and Glass getting the last laugh and completing his character arc by revealing that superheroes exist in the world was great. Glass had so much going for it, and that’s why it’s disappointing that Shyamalan dropped the ball, but it still acts as a decent way to wrap up an amazing trilogy.
8.'Wide Awake'
Starring: Denis Leary, Dana Delany, Joseph Cross, Rosie O’Donnell
Box Office: $282,000 USD
Release date: March 20, 1998
Rating: PG
Rotten Tomatoes: 45% (Critics), 66% (Audience)
It’s funny that a director who became known for their thriller and horror movies started their career with a comedy-drama. Wide Awake might actually explain why every suspenseful movie Shyamalan has directed always comes injected with just a little bit of humor to take the edge off. The movie is extremely endearing and heartwarming and follows young Josh Beal (Joseph Cross) as he tries to understand the great beyond with the help of Sister Terry (Rosie O’Donnell). Set in Philadelphia, paying homage to the director’s hometown as he does in most films, Wide Awake wasn’t making any Oscar runs, but it is a nice little rainy Sunday watch. It almost feels like a kid-friendly version of The Sixth Sense, without the super depressing plot and horrifying visuals. Discounting Praying With Anger, Wide Awake was a safe start for the budding director and set the bar low, allowing him to completely shatter expectations with its follow-up, The Sixth Sense.
7.'The Village'
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver,
Box Office: $256.7 Million USD
Release date: July 30, 2004
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% (Critics), 57% (Audience)
Shyamalan is a master of misdirection, and The Village is a perfect example of this. The director makes us think that the film is taking place at the turn of the 19th century, but in reality, it’s all happening in the present day. The monsters in the film weren’t demented creatures, but rather the village elders who were more committed to lies than giving their people free will.
Bryce Dallas Howard and Joaquin Phoenix do a masterful job at weaving together a pioneer love story, and Shyamalan cleverly uses Howard’s character’s blindness to his advantage for the village’s secret to stay kept. Shyamalan even makes his patented Stan Lee-like cameo in the movie’s final moments. A somber score meshed with slow, drawn-out frames creates an ominous tone for The Village, leaving viewers convinced that there might actually be something bumping in the night. However, not too dissimilar from A24’s It Comes At Night, the real monster that lies beyond the confines of the village is the insidious dishonesty that it stands upon. The Village is slept on, it comes packed with loads of suspense, endearing characters, and a twist ending to create a film that keeps you both engaged and questioning everything.
6.'The Visit'
Starring: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn
Box Office: $98.5 Million USD
Release date: Septmeber 11, 2015
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (Critics), 51% (Audience)
Coming off a stale streak of films with The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth, Shyamalan took two years to retool and returned with The Visit, a film that works because of how unnerving it is, while never taking itself too seriously. Its lighthearted, comedic beats balance the fear factor that Shyamalan enhances with a found footage-style shooting and the absence of a music score. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould do a great job playing two oblivious kids who would act like any other would once they realize that something is seriously messed up with grandma and grandpa. It’s basically Shyamalan’s demented version of Hansel and Gretel. Despite the found footage horror subgenre being on its last leg, Shyamalan still delivers a memorable film that doesn’t solely rely on jump scares to create a genuine sense of dread throughout it.
5.'Old'
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, Aaron Pierre, Embeth Davidtz, Emun Elliott.
Box Office: $48.6 Million USD (As of August 1)
Release date: July 23, 2021
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 49% (Critics), 52% (Audience)
Old would have been so much more fun if Shyamalan didn’t tell his audience the mechanics behind his mystery...and if the explanation for said mystery wasn’t so contrived. Loosely based on the Swiss graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters, Old centers around a family who finds themselves on a beach that makes them age rapidly. The reverse Fountain of Youth aesthetic is fun. The mystery of how it’s all happening is fun, for the short amount of time that it’s kept. But once everything is explained in the first act, Old gets, well old, really fast.
Some of the brightest moments from the film come from its most graphic scenes, like the woman possessed with vanity having her body contort and break, then rapidly heal in its broken places. Or when the group must manually extract the growing tumor from Prisca’s (Vicky Krieps) body, and when Trent (Alex Wolff) and Kara’s (Eliza Scanlen) childlike curiosity yields dark results in their now-mature bodies, creating a disturbing nativity for a deceased baby. Shyamalan’s cleverness in showcasing the beach’s aging effect in uniquely horrifying ways was another hallmark of Old, but ultimately it feels like he is stuck in the same gear here. Old still demonstrates Shyamalan’s directorial talents—like the camera constantly panning in a rotational clockwork motion, playing on the central theme of time, and the bits of humor that lighten up the overall dark plot—but beyond the novelties, Old would have worked better as a 45-minute Black Mirror episode instead of a 108-minute feature film.
4.'Unbreakable'
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard
Box Office: $248.1 Million USD
Release date: November 22, 2000
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% (Critics), 77% (Audience)
After punching his bid for the psychological horror hall of fame with The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan continued his hot streak by dropping Unbreakable. Shyamalan launches us into a normal world with a guy (Bruce Willis) who, for some unknown reason, is literally unbreakable. The film is fun because the director keeps so much hidden during it, from the origin of Willis’ powers to his aversion to water.
While Unbreakable has a fairly simple plot on the surface, it’s the moral sparring between Willis and Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass that makes it so compelling. Shyamalan makes Mr. Glass memorable because the audience is forced to always question the moral permissibility of his actions until the very end, where we learn he’s a homicidal mastermind. It’s a classic Shyamalan twist that makes Unbreakable only matched by its in-universe sequel, Split, which continues the story in a way that only this director could imagine.
3.'Split'
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley
Box Office: $278.5 Million USD
Release date: January 20, 2017
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% (Critics), 79% (Audience)
Split works because it’s original and never lets its foot off the pedal. While The Visit was moderately successful, Shyamalan still had a lot of ground to cover after several lukewarm films. Split is a fun ride that’s guided by great storytelling and anchored by James McAvoy delivering one of his best performances to date. Playing Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man who has 23 different personalities all fighting for supremacy, McAvoy breathes life into Shyamalan’s script and each of Kevin’s personas. Split is the redemption Shyamalan had been after. Utilizing claustrophobic camera angles, he keeps the suspense at neck level as he stacks the story with easter eggs for the final reveal. Misfit Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) is also a compelling character, adding a demented camouflage and exemplifying the overarching theme of survival being the most practical and necessary human trait.
Split manages to edge its predecessor Unbreakable, even without Mr. Glass, because of how long Shyamalan keeps his audience in the dark about the sly world-building he’s doing. Split is risky, rewarding, and ultimately the best film in Shyamalan’s Unbreakable trilogy.
2.'Signs'
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin, Rory Culkin
Box Office: $408.2 Million USD
Release date: August 2, 2002
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 74% (Critics), 64% (Audience)
For every The Fourth Kind and War of the Worlds, there needs to be a Signs, because it is a sci-fi alien drama in all its glory. After capping off an incredible run of films in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable back-to-back, Shyamalan completes the three-peat by weaving together one of the most chilling and multi-layered alien movies to date. Signs is great because every character in the film has a purpose and full arc to complete. The title alone is a double entendre, referencing both the literal signs of an impending alien invasion and the spiritual signs that Mel Gibson’s Reverend Graham Hess battles with as he wrestles with his faith in the face of possible doom. Similar to The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan makes Signs less about the aliens and more about the family dynamic morphing around the conflict.
Signs could have been Shyamalan’s best movie yet, but then the final act happens. Shyamalan shines when he doesn’t show all his cards and lets his audience imagine what the big bad looks like and how stories could unfold if he gave us 20 more minutes. For the climatic finale to be heralded by CGI aliens felt like a cop-out. The suspense and thrill that was built throughout Signs fell through in those last 10 minutes, but regardless, the film still holds up as one of his best directorial endeavors to date.
1.'The Sixth Sense'
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Haley Joel Osment
Box Office: $672.8 Million USD
Release date: August 6, 1999
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (Critics), 90% (Audience)
There is a faction of horror fanatics that hail The Sixth Sense as one of the greatest ghost movies of all time. They aren’t wrong.
Unlike his other films, Shyamalan didn’t try to do too much here. He takes his time through the entire film, establishing a stillness that adds to the suspense and dread that he fortifies with a somber storyline. As we follow Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) and young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a sense of foreboding is established from the very beginning. Set in the fall, a season marked by the death of plant life, Shyamalan uses a tactic that he’d perfect later and lays subtle hints throughout the film to keep the film’s secret hidden in plain sight. The beauty of The Sixth Sense isn’t just in the paranormal, though, but in how the world continues moving around it. Shyamalan substitutes the exhausted diatribes from disgruntled spirits for empathetic examinations of why they can’t cross over to the other side until young Cole shepherds them there. And most ironic of all, Willis grounds the story, despite being a ghost himself. All of these subtleties culminate into Shyamalan’s best twist ending yet, and one of the best horror plot twists of all time.
On the 20th anniversary of the film in 2019, Shyamalan recalled to The Hollywood Reporter how he was ready to shelve The Sixth Sense if a studio wouldn’t buy into his idea and the $1 million budget. “If they don’t want to make it, I will shelve it,’” he said. “You have to not be bluffing when you say stuff like that. I wasn’t bluffing. I’ll do other things, but I won’t make the movie.” Thankfully, several offers rolled in and The Sixth Sense has withstood the test of time. It’s dark, suspenseful, and heart-wrenching all at the same time. The Sixth Sense also kicked off Shyamalan’s impressive run of films that continued with Unbreakable and Signs. The young director struck gold and captured the true essence of horror with his debut. It’s the best film in his catalog, and for the horror genre at large, it’s up there, too.