M. Night Shyamalan Gets Too Much Hate: Ranking His Movies From Best To Worst
M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most scrutinized directors in Hollywood. After hearing a lot of hate for his new movie Trap, I went and saw what the hype was about. While not his greatest movie, it's enjoyable, and the entire time you care about how it will end. What more do you need from a movie?
Shyamalan's early success probably doomed him to be throttled by expectations of a massive twist, but on their own, almost all of his movies are enjoyable watches. Not only do the majority of his movies have incredible all star casts, but every one of Shyamalan's movies make you think. There's a time and a place for mindless entertainment, but I appreciate being able to put on a Shyamalan movie and wondering till the end what will happen. From best to worst - these are M. Night Shamalyn's feature films ranked …
1. 6th Sense (1999)
This has to be #1 on the list. A legitimately terrifying movie with one of the greatest endings of all time. You could have told me that M. Night Shyamalan invented the twist ending after this came out, and I would have fully believed you. Pair the twist with little Haley Joel Osment and you've got yourself a classic. The only down side to this movie is that it's extremely serious which doesn't make it the most rewatchable movie, but that shouldn't take away from this great viewing experience.
2. Signs (2002)
Signs is my favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie. I could rewatch this movie a billion times and not get tired of seeing Mel and Joaquin tag team alien invaders. Sixth Sense is a better movie, but Signs is so damn enjoyable. I wish Shyamalan never showed the alien at the end, because the way he teased these invaders to let your imagination run wild was horror movie 101 - the alien fingers coming through the crack under the door, the alien blending in with the basement coal chute, and obviously the scene with the alien walking through the birthday party. Perfection. This is a great horror movie.
3. Unbreakable (2000)
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I love how grounded this super hero movie is compared to most in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The other two movies in this trilogy only make Unbreakable even better. Bruce Willis vs Samuel L. Jackson is a rivalry that gives Batman and The Joker a run for their money. I love how Willis' green rain pancho even gives vibes of the cape and cowl of Batman. Reality based vigilante movies are always a good time, and this movie doesn't disappoint. A must watch for anyone, not just super hero fans.
4. Split (2016)
I remember leaving the theater after seeing this movie, and thinking M. Night Shyamalan is fucking back. Not necessarily for his trademark making a movie with an incredible twist ending, but for making a movie that had a great cast and was enjoyable till the end. Ana Taylor Joy is good, while James McAvoy doing 100 different characters is the definition of acting your dick off. Something about making this an evil villain origin story disguised as a thriller is awesome.
5. Glass (2019)
I loved Glass for its originality, and the way it lifted up and tied together Unbreakable and Split to create a perfect universe. Not many super hero movies make you think, and this movie has you guessing until the classic Shyamalan twist. The predictable Marvel movie formula has grown stale, so a fresh take on a super hero movie was welcome. I enjoy how these characters are all somewhat based in reality, which reminds me of the Batman Universe, and even more specifically how Christopher Nolan did his Batman movies. Are these super heroes, or mentally ill freaks? Shyamalan turns the streets of Philly into the streets of Gotham in the final installment of this super hero trilogy.
6. Lady In The Water (2006)
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People started to turn on Shyamalan for The Village, then a couple years later, everyone dumped on him for making Lady In The Water. This movie gets absolutely destroyed online, and the hate is NOT warranted. LITW was different vibe than all of Shyamalan's previous movies, but this modern fairy tale is great story telling, propped up by even better acting. If Paul Giamatti isn't cast in the lead role as the lovable loser average joe, this whole movie falls apart. The twist isn't anything ground breaking, and Giamatti deserves most of the credit for why this movie works, not Shyamalan, so this movie isn't higher up on the list. Still worth a watch.
Lady In The Water is a good movie.
7. The Visit (2015)
I would have never guessed that this found footage B horror movie was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, but the range of Shyamalan knows no limits. Somehow this movie just works, it's an awesome little horror movie. While this movie was cheesy with some of the humor, the Paranormal Activity vibes opened this movie up to some extremely creepy scenes. I'm glad this movie wasn't out when I was a little kid because this movie would have made me terrified of going to visit my grandparents. The only part I could have done without in this movie is the white 13 year old kid, who goes by the name of T-Diamond, freestyle rapping every chance he got. Without the cringy raps, this movie might even be higher on the list because it's exactly what you want from a horror movie.
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8. Trap (2024)
With Josh Hartnett as the lead role, and the basic plot of the movie, Trap had the foundation to be great, but somehow fell short. I was completely on board with the first two acts of the movie, but in the final act, the movie went a little off the rails. I'm not sure if the movie would have been better if going into it, you had no clue Hartnett's character is a deranged serial killer named The Butcher, but there needed to be more of a mystery behind Hartnett's character. While this movie might not have been a home run, this movie did open my eyes to the fact that parts of Shyamalan's movies aren't to be taken seriously, and are meant to be funny. I never viewed Shyamalan as a comedian, but he uses humor in the exact same way as Jordan Peele. I think you pick up on Peele using it because Peele has a comedic background, while Shyamalan seems like he's always been more deliberate. All of these movies on the list are better if you understand how M. Night Shyamalan uses humor in movies.
9. The Village (2004)
People started to turn on Shyamalan after this movie. I remember walking out of the theater back in the day and enjoying this movie way more than my friends did. Monsters lurking in the forbidden woods is a great concept. I found these monsters to be interestingly creepy, and pale people from 1700's talking in old english is always weirdly hair-raising. After rewatching this movie years later as an adult, it's not as great as a remember. Maybe because now I know the twists? Or, because in between action scenes this movie is incredibly slow, even with an incredible cast - Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Jessie Eissenburg, Bredan Gleeson. Worth one watch, then maybe never again?
10. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
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I enjoyed this movie up until the last 20 minutes, and then it lost me. I've seen people saying this is based off a book, and the ending in the book was completely different and 100% better than what Shyamalan produced. This is one of those movies that gets off to a hot start, but all the potential outcomes you think of in your head are better than what's on the screen.
11. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2010)
I never watched the cartoon on Nickelodeon, so with nothing to compare the movie to, I actually might have liked this movie more than most. BUT, the new live action air bender series on Netflix rules compared to this movie. Spend your time watching the Netflix series because it's 10x better than the Shyamalan version.
12. The Happening (2008)
The world is a worse place for this movie existing. Normally I'd tell someone to watch a movie and form an opinion on their own, but this movie is such dog shit, that it's the only movie on the list I'd recommend you never watch. I gave up on M. Night Shyamalan movies after watching Mark Wahlberg fight trees for an hour and a half. The only redeeming parts of this movie were the fact that the run time was so short, and the chilling death scene with a random guy laying down in front of the riding lawn mower.
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TWIST!!!!!!!
Bet you didn't see this coming, but I've never seen Old (2021), or After Earth (2013), but I hear that Old is a solid movie with a classic Shyamalan twist, while After Earth is a bit of a turd. Granted, I'm looking forward to watching both of these movies to see where they land on the list. Not a chance either of them could be worse than The Happening.
