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Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
Well, #FilmTwitter is buzzing about the latest trailer to hit–a horror adaptation from M. Night Shyamalan. He is taking a fascinating book by Paul Tremblay, The Cabin at the End of the World, and making us all reconsider the age-old question, “But what if it sucks?”
Every cinephile knows the story. The Sixth Sense was one of those generational films with perhaps one of cinematic history’s top three plot twists. It was so good that people respected the sanctity of spoilers and made the film enthusiasts of the world discover it on their own. It was perfect and M. Night Shyamalan became deified in Hollywood overnight.
Then came Unbreakable. At the time, we didn’t know it would be a trilogy, but one was clear–Bruce Willis as a reluctant superhero was genius (as was the premise of this film). Signs were next.
The formula was there for the mad scientist to get crazy—solid-acting pedigrees, crop circles, an enigmatic force, and things that bump in the night. And then, we saw that damn alien!
Instantly, we saw the chink in Shyamalan’s armor that no one could avoid. It revealed something no one thought possible from this guy. “Maybe The Sixth Sense was a fluke?” And that’s when the clock started ticking on his 15 minutes of fame.
M. Night Shyamalan’s Stroke (Out) of Genius
(Credit: Wallace Michael Chrouch via Paramount Pictures/Blinding Edge Pictures)
When the Signs‘ alien showed up on the screens, the air was sucked out of theaters faster than when that big sweaty dude sat in the middle seat of the plane right next to you. The charm and charisma of the movie were gone, but we overlooked it because it’s The Sixth Sense guy.
He redeemed himself with The Village because no one saw that ending coming, not even Ron Howard’s baby girl (because she was blind in the movie and…well, never mind). And that was the last we saw of that guy. Since 2005, Shyamalan’s meteoric rise vanished into a black hole, never to be seen since.
- Lady in the Water
- The Happening
- The Last Airbender
- After Earth
- Wayward Pines
They all were Razzie-award-winning movies–well, Wayward Pines was a FOX TV series, but same story–held together by duct tape, Laffy Taffy, and whatever the hell keeps Donald Trump’s hairpiece on his head. It was a decade of mediocrity, and every opportunity we were given to believe in the M. Night Shyamalan magic, all we were given was the tiny poop kernels the rabbit leaves in the magician’s hat.
Then came The Visit. Uh-oh. What’s this? Is the man back?! This was an entertaining movie. Moreover, it was refreshing to know that Shyamalan didn’t purchase a box set of skills from a hardware store. Nana, played convincingly by Deanna Dunagan, proved senility comes at a dire cost.
Fans accepted the nonverbal apology and again gave the gifted director another chance. Split renewed our hope, if not for any other reason, this!
YES! He was back. M. Night Shyamalan’s face was on milk cartons worldwide because he had been missing for so long, but this meant he was back–and with a trilogy. Glass put the band back together, and Hollywood pulled out the welcome mat again to the magic man.
And then…
This Crap is Getting Old
(Credit: Morgan Smith via Universal Pictures/Blinding Edge Pictures)
The yo-yo known as M. Night Shyalaman and his film portfolio did it again! He had us back. We knew he was still capable of greatness, sharp twists, and endings no one saw coming. Instead, we get what happens when The Lord of the Flies ends up at an AARP convention. The movie was a mess. Its plot was made of Swiss cheese, and the actor fell through every hole.
Ironically, the audience got Old because that was two-plus hours they will never get back. It started with a mysterious concept and swelled into a toilet bowl of movie despair. The Curious Case of Benjamin Beach Bum here seemed to end those 15 minutes. He tried his hand at directing four episodes of an AppleTV+ series, Servant. He would have been better off staring at a hand of poker.
Then, M. Night Shyalaman comes knocking again with a new trailer.
Does M. Night Shyamalan have enough magic beans in his pocket for one more run at the top of the Hollywood Hills? Will this have the same lingering effect as his first few movies or his last dozen? If you go by the book, this movie will crush the box office once word gets out.
In 2019, Paul Tremblay was awarded the “Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award for Novel.” The guy is no slouch, and you know that with an unnerving and macabre dance of paranoia throughout his book. If Shyamalan did his homework–the one thing you can always count on him doing–he will have fun building the ethos of each character.
The Sixth Sense. Unbreakable. The Village, Split. Glass. Each of those films had intriguing characters with a backstory that fans wanted to take the time to study and digest. As whack-a-doodle as some people are these days, this apocalyptic band of idiots is believable,
So, let’s answer that age-old question together: But what if it sucks? Therein lies the rub. We’ll never know unless we give Shyamalan one more chance.
Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
This article was edited by Sarah Taylor.