Indian-American actor and director M. Night Shyamalan has made a name for himself in the filmmaking world. As his movies manage to be hits and blockbusters, they garner praise for how unique their storylines are, as well as how they manage to twist in on themselves and captivate audiences even when it seems like they have run out of steam. He entered the movie scene in 1992 with Praying With Anger, a film he starred in, wrote, and produced. His first two movies were financed by his parents and friends, while, as he revealed later (via EW), he was a ghostwriter for She’s All That.
However, Shyamalan has established a name for himself since then and has released a plethora of successful and unsuccessful movies. Soon, he will be directing Knock at the Cabin, a movie that features the likes of Dave Bautista, Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint, and Hamilton’s Jonathan Groff. Until then, fans can enjoy these movies, which are some of the best of Shyamalan’s filmography.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 After Earth
Columbia Pictures
Before he was an Academy Award-winning actor, Will Smith created the story for After Earth and starred in it with his son, Jaden Smith, alongside Zoë Kravitz. Many centuries later, Earth has become uninhabitable, and humans live in space colonies. They are at war with aliens known as the S’krell, and the human brigade called The Ranger Corps is in charge of taking out any threats. Cypher (Will Smith), a general at Ranger Corps, has a son who wants to become one himself, but keeps failing. When the father-and-son duo crash lands on Earth, they find themselves facing threats unlike anything they have seen before. After Earth lacks any real pacing, making it difficult to watch, and leans towards tendencies where one lectures about morals instead of anything happening.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 The Visit
Blinking Edge Pictures
The Visit marked Shyamalan’s return to the horror genre in 2015, and it did not disappoint in his classic style. Two teenage siblings live with their divorced mother in Philadelphia, who has not spoken to her parents in fifteen years. One day, the siblings’ grandparents track them down online and invite them to stay for five days at their rural farmhouse. The family agrees, but when the children arrive at the house, their grandparents begin to act strangely. The Visit is unsettling and vaguely reminiscent of the gory drama sealed inside original, unedited fairy tales. It is a layered nightmare, a fresh dash of originality in Hollywood horror movies.
5 Unbreakable
Touchstone Pictures
Released in 2000, Unbreakable marks the beginning of the Unbreakable series that includes Shyamalan’s later films Glass and Split. A former star quarterback turned security guard boards a train, which then crashes. When he wakes up in the hospital, he is not injured when there was no way he could have survived that. He begins realizing that he has never been sick and that he shows paranormal capabilities when it comes to strength, thus making people believe he is indeed a superhero. Unbreakable is now considered one of the best superhero films ever released, helping distinguish it from others.
4 Old
Perfect World Pictures
Before one’s beach vacation, they better not watch Shyamalan’s latest movie Old. Gael García Bernal and Vicky Krieps star as a couple preparing to finalize their divorce. To ease their young children’s anxieties on the divorce, they agree on one last family vacation together to a tropical resort. The hotel’s employees take the family to a private beach with a couple of other parties, but the beach seems to have supernatural qualities as its occupants are rapidly aging. With its musings on time and how it passes too quickly, alongside medical exploitation, Old’s twist offers lessons in keeping an audience’s attention.
3 Split
Blinding Edge Pictures
Split is the second movie in the Unbreakable series, and it stars James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Betty Buckley. A man (McAvoy) struggling with dissociative personality disorder has 23 personalities. One night, his personality named Dennis takes over and kidnaps three girls outside a birthday party. They attempt to escape from him before his 24th personality, named “The Beast,” takes over and kills them all. McAvoy is the standout from this film for his performance as the young man with split personalities.
2 Signs
2002’s Signs starred Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. A former priest (Gibson) has renounced his faith in God and lives on a farm with his two children and younger brother (Phoenix). One day, crop circles begin to appear around the farm, but they make nothing of it. When crop circles and flashing lights begin to appear all over North America, it has become obvious to the ex-priest that this could only be the work of aliens. Although the movie does tend to directly deliver information, its ambiance makes up for what it lacks.
1 The Sixth Sense
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
The Sixth Sense is M. Night Shyamalan’s best film to date, and it was the movie that introduced his work to a larger audience. A child psychologist (Bruce Willis) discovers one of his clients, a nine-year-old (Haley Joel Osment) is capable of speaking to the dead and can see ghosts wandering around. The Sixth Sense is partially a ghost story and a horror movie, but that does not stop it from making it a really good movie. Osment’s performance was particularly praised, as well as the movie’s script.
