The M. Night Shyamalan Scary Video Reviews

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Wednesday, 09 May 2007 11:41

reviews

The Sixth Sense (1999)

This one is considered Shyamalan’s best to many, but for me it only rates as the silver medalist. (See: Unbreakable below.) This tale of a dowdy boy that sees ghosts that frighten him and the psychologist that tries to help him find some peace with his gift, benefited from being the first in the filmmakers series of post-modern genre films. The surprises were legitimate because you truly didn’t see the end coming on that first viewing, and anyone who claims that they did are spitting on your cupcake and calling it ‘icing’. A restrained performance from Bruce Willis, an appropriately creepy one from Osment and Toni Collette grounding it all as Osment’s Mom is what really elevates Sense beyond mere ghost story. Once you’ve seen the end and watched it a second time to catch all the clues, you may not pick it up again; but that first viewing catches everyone by the ankles and for better or for worse, it’s what Shyamalan has built a filmography on.

Unbreakable (2000)

Easily the most underrated and underappreciated of Shyamalan’s films, Unbreakable is a quiet and deliberate meditation on the origin of a superhero. Willis turns in another great performance as a man desperately resigned to not accept the truth about the nature of his reality and Samuel L. Jackson is appropriately subtle and subdued in his supporting role. This movie, of all Shyamalan’s works, is the one that has its act together the most; lacking in the plot holes that typify future scripts while perfecting the stylistic devices he began to explore in The Sixth Sense. The surprise twist is a little more forced in this outing, but it is in perfect keeping with the archetypes that Shyamalan is playing with here. Supposedly there were two planned sequels for Unbreakable, pity we’ll probably never see them given this film’s luke warm reception and Shyamalan’s current, tenuous relationship with Disney.

reviews

Signs (2002)

Signs is by far the weakest of Shyamalan’s scary saga, but ultimately it’s saved by the performances of the cast and the filmmaker’s ample and maturing style. As Sense remodeled the ghost story and Unbreakable streamlined the comic book super man; Signs refocuses the alien invasion subgenre by showing the horrors from the myopic perspective of a Pennsylvania farm family as opposed to mindless blowing up known landmarks. In this film, Shyamalan adds a much needed touch of humour to the dire circumstances, but the gloom of the story sometimes makes the funny bits jarring. Excellent special effects and a potent message about how everything has a purpose ultimately outshine the problems and details in the script.

reviews

The Village (2004)

The Village was, perhaps, the most reviled of Shyamalan’s movies, but it’s probably more accurate to say that maybe the criticism had to do with some kind of Shyamalan fatigue as opposed to the flaws of the picture. This movie does have its sticking points though; a few glaring pot holes and a ‘twist’ ending that’s telegraphed well in advanced of the big reveal being the most obvious. The one thing that cannot be faulted though is the stellar cast and its ample talent, led by the understated Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard in her first big role. The Village is beautifully shot and deliberate in its beats, but the problem is that the shrewd viewer knows where they’re going and Shyamalan lays the clues and cues on thick. What Shyamalan’s gained in style, he’s lost in subtlety; hopefully this is not a flaw that’s carried over into Lady In The Water.