The M. Night Shyamalan Defense — come at me, bro!

Image courtesy of Warner Bros

Lady in the Water

This is one of my favorites. Paul Giamatti was PHENOMENAL. He went all-in on this role and it showed. His character was funny and sad and he tugged on your heartstrings. Bryce Dallas Howard was ethereal and beautifully otherworldly. The story was so whimsical and I loved the residents of the complex. They were all caricatures to a certain point but in the best way. The way the scenes are shot are quiet and artistic, relying heavily on reflection which is representative of the water and of the reflection the character is doing on himself. Five stars.

Image courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

The Happening

This one gets a lot of flak for the Shyamalan Twist but I LOVE this movie. The Happening was the movie that terrified me the most. I love the idea of nature fighting back and there are few things scarier than losing control of your own body and harming yourself. It’s one thing to have another person want you dead because you could get away from them, but how are you going to get away from yourself? While Zooey Deschanel was completely deadpan in this movie and totally unlikable, Mark Wahlberg and John Leguizamo were wonderful with good chemistry between them.

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures

Devil

I loved the superstition on this movie. While I’m not a religious person by any means, there was something creepy about the devil hiding among a group of people in an elevator. The set and the crew of actors were small but that’s all it needed. It’s creepy and dark and had a different tone than any of his previous releases.

Image courtesy of Blumhouse

The Visit

This was M. Night Shyamalan’s first foray into the found footage style and anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for found footage. While this one isn’t my favorite of the bunch, it’s still well made. The old people in the movie are wicked creepy and the Shyamalan Twist was pretty effective as I didn’t see it coming. It wasn’t the most intelligent movie he’s ever made but it sure as hell isn’t the worst *coughTheLastAirbender cough*

M. Night Shyamalan also dipped his hands into television with the series Wayward Pines. While he only directed one episode, he produced the rest. I lack opinion on the show as I have never seen it, but it ran for two seasons and has an overall good review.

There you have it M. Night Shyama-fans and Shyama-haters. In my closing statement, M. Night Shyamalan movies are worth more than people give the credit for. The dialogue is engaging, the stories are horrifiying, whimsical or deep. The characters are (mostly…looking at you Zooey) cast to perfection and you’re lying if you said you saw every twist coming. Here’s hoping that Glass lives up to everyone’s expectations or it just might be added to the long list of so-called fails.