M. Night Shyamalan broke through into the mainstream with his second-feature, the late ’90s horror phenomenon The Sixth Sense. The two similarly successful films that followed (Unbreakable, Signs) was building up Shyamalan as a director of possible Speilbergian talent, though in danger of having his third-act screenplay twists overwhelm his brand. That bore Rotten fruit with The Village and The Happening, which set off a bum streak with big-budget sci-fi and would-be blockbusters: The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth.
The Visit in 2015 would be a back-to-basics, comeback horror effort. Its box office and relative critical success set the stage for the Certified Fresh Split, which brought back the dark superhero world of Unbreakable. Shyamalan closed the trilogy with Glass.
And new from Shyamalan: Trap! See where it places as we rank all M. Night Shyamalan movies by Tomatometer!
Critics Consensus: M Night Shayamalan's The Sixth Sense is a twisty ghost story with all the style of a classical Hollywood picture, but all the chills of a modern horror flick.
Synopsis: Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened...
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Critics Consensus:Split serves as a dramatic tour de force for James McAvoy in multiple roles -- and finds writer-director M. Night Shyamalan returning resoundingly to thrilling form.
Synopsis: Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still...
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Critics Consensus: With a weaker ending, Unbreakable is not as a good as The Sixth Sense. However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way.
Synopsis: David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is the sole survivor of a devastating train wreck. Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is a...
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Critics Consensus:The Visit provides horror fans with a satisfying blend of thrills and laughs -- and also signals a welcome return to form for writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.
Synopsis: Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and younger brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) say goodbye to their mother as they board a train and...
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Critics Consensus: Although it's often less than scary and parts of the story don't bear scrutiny, Knock at the Cabin is a thought-provoking chiller and upper-tier Shyamalan.
Synopsis: While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who...
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Critics Consensus: An arch thriller given some grounding by Josh Hartnett's committed performance, Shyamalan's Trap will ensnare those who appreciate its tongue-in-cheek style while the rest will be eager to wriggle out from it.
Synopsis: A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and...
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Critics Consensus:Old has no shortage of interesting ideas -- and writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's uneven execution will intrigue or annoy viewers, with little middle ground between.
Synopsis: A tropical holiday turns into a horrific nightmare when a family visits a secluded beach that somehow causes them to...
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Critics Consensus: The Village is appropriately creepy, but Shyamalan's signature twist ending disappoints.
Synopsis: Members (Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody) of a 19th-century community fear the strange creatures that inhabit the surrounding...
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Critics Consensus:Glass displays a few glimmers of M. Night Shyamalan at his twisty world-building best, but ultimately disappoints as the conclusion to the writer-director's long-gestating trilogy.
Synopsis: David Dunn tries to stay one step ahead of the law while delivering vigilante justice on the streets of Philadelphia....
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Critics Consensus: A far-fetched story with little suspense and unconvincing scenarios, Lady In The Water feels contrived, pretentious, and rather silly.
Synopsis: When Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) rescues an enigmatic young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) from danger, little does he know that...
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Critics Consensus:After Earth is a dull, ploddingly paced exercise in sentimental sci-fi -- and the latest setback for director M. Night Shyamalan's once-promising career.
Synopsis: People were forced to leave Earth a millennium ago to establish a new home on Nova Prime. Now, Gen. Cypher...
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Critics Consensus:The Last Airbender squanders its popular source material with incomprehensible plotting, horrible acting, and detached joyless direction.
Synopsis: The four nations of Air, Water, Earth and Fire lived in harmony until the Fire Nation declared war. A century...
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