Since the first time movie lovers got to know the true potential ofM. Night Shyamalan, his career has come a long way and seen him work on close to 20 feature movies now, most of which he wrote, directed, and produced himself. Although some of his films have come in for a fair share of criticism, when he gets it right, audiences and critics agree that he can be a truly mesmerizing filmmaker with a unique style that makes his best work stand out from ordinary movie experiences.
If you haven’t yet experienced why Shyamalan’s films are so well-loved and debated, it’s probably best you choose to watch them in a specific order. While this is necessary for some that have a definite order since they’re linked, the polarizing nature of his work means others provide a clearer picture of his best work, so watching the wrong ones first may give youa skewed understandingof just how brilliant he can be. If you’re looking to catch up on the best of M. Night Shyamalan’s films and learn why he’s one of the most uniquely talented filmmakers around, here’s the order we suggest you watch them in.
1Unbreakable
When M. Night Shyamalan first worked with Bruce Willis, it proved to be a match made in box office gold. The film launched the career of Shyamalan and catapulted him to the fame and cult following he enjoys today. To date, it also remains his highest-grossing movie ever. Willis and Shyamalan worked well together and have also reportedly shared a strong friendship ever since. A year later, Shyamalan’s next big film also featured Willis in the lead.Unbreakablewas an amazing film, made with the same foreboding atmosphere and suspense-laden style that the director has become synonymous with.
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His pairing with Willis again brought on another iconic reunion since Samuel L. Jackson also appeared in it.Unbreakablesaw Bruce Willis play a seemingly ordinary man and the lone survivor of a train crash. It gets interesting as he learns there may actually be a radical reason forhis extraordinary strengthand the fact that he never seems to get hurt. The film was a huge hit commercially and critically, even earning high praise from the likes of Roger Ebert, Time Magazine, and the revered Quentin Tarantino himself.
WhenUnbreakablewas first released, rumors quickly began to circulate that there would be sequels. While this turned out to be true, the sequel was only made sixteen years later. However, the long wait was worth it sinceSplitproved to be one of Shyamalan’s greatest movies. It’s difficult to put into words just how good it was. At first glance, if you’ve never seenUnbreakable,it’s not apparent that the film is a sequel since it picks up from a very different storyline. It features James McAvoy in what was arguably the standout performance of his career so far.
It was a majestic performance that saw him play a very disturbing person with dissociative identity disorder. This feature provided McAvoy the opportunity to display the breadth of his acting range and the result was a staggering display ofjust how good an actor he is. Unfortunately, it also came under fire from mental health associations who attacked it for stigmatizing mental health disorders such as dissociative identity disorder by its negative portrayal of it.
WhileUnbreakableandSplitwere pretty much self-contained movies, the end ofSplitmakes it clear why they’re linked. In doing so, it also wonderfully sets up the third film.Glassis the movie that rounds off theUnbreakabletrilogy, and by finally bringing together the characters from the first two films, makes for an enjoyable end to it.
WhileSplitwas a massive critical hit and widely seen as the return toShyamalan’s best formafter many previous films disappointed,Glasswas panned badly. Regardless, it was still an entertaining watch that saw McAvoy’s exciting character return in an even more terrifying form than the ones he took in the previous film. Additionally, it saw the return of characters fromUnbreakableand again saw the brilliant Anya Taylor-Joy starring alongside McAvoy, as she did inSplit.
4The Sixth Sense
The first three films on the list should definitely be watched in that order since they’re connected. From that point, these are the other notable films from M. Night Shyamalan that are widely regarded as representing his best work.The Sixth Sensewas a worldwide phenomenon and the movie that launched Shyamalan’s career to stratospheric heights. This film and others that were just as good had people once calling him the next Spielberg. Unfortunately, a fair amount of bad reviews later derailed his reputation, although he has recently shown again why he’s so highly acclaimed.
The film that started it all saw Bruce Willis play a child psychologist who encountersa young patientwhose claims cause the film to take on a dark and terrifying feel. Through its wonderful pacing, cinematography, and one very special performance that introduced the world to Haley Joel Osment, the film was engrossing from the start. The now legendary twist at the end pushes it into realms of brilliance that no one saw coming and gave the world its first taste of M. Night Shyamalan’s magic.
5The Village
By this point, in your journey through M. Night Shyamalan films, it should be clear just how good he can be. InThe Village,he retains his classic style of creating an ominous tone throughout. While the film can feel a little slower at times, it’s still wrought with tension and builds up in intensity as it progresses. It centers around what looks and feels like a period film. Told through the experiences of a single village, it takes on a scary tone when some terrifying entities come into the fold.
Related:Why The Village Is M. Night Shyamalan’s Most Underrated Masterpiece
Taking you on this journey is just one aspect, one thatthe twist at the endsubverts and shatters in a brilliant way when the truth of it all is finally revealed. Released in 2004 at the peak of Shyamalan’s fame, the cast was an indication of just how sought-after projects his films were. It featured Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, and Brendan Gleeson.
When M. Night Shyamalan teamed up with Joaquin Phoenix again and Mel Gibson as his lead, the result was a very polarizing film.Signsreceived generally good reviews and was a box office hit. However, it was also criticized for havingsome uneven aspects in its plot. Known for films that traverse the realms of the ordinary and often land in a genre between paranormal and horror, this one dealt with aliens in a typically Shyamalan-esque manner. By attempting to provide an answer to the real-life phenomenon of crop circles, the film builds some great suspense as its characters try to solve the mystery themselves.
One of the more recent films from M. Night Shyamalan,Old, fared well commercially but was subject to mixed reviews from critics. It was a good film overall and featured a lot of the mysterious elements that often color the filmmaker’s work. It centers around a group of people at a holiday resort. When they decide to visit a secluded island nearby, their trip soon takes a disturbing turn as they all begin to age at a rapid pace. This unusual plot makes for some great suspense as the film grows uncomfortable and tense in a good way since the characters have to fight against time to figure out what’s happening to them before it’s too late.
8Knock at the Cabin
After all the excitement and hype that accompanied the release of M. Night Shyamalan’sKnock at the Cabin, the film was againsubject to mixed reviews, with some critics knocking it for a variety of reasons. However, its placement here is deliberate since much of the criticism it received was harsher than it deserved. Watching all the previous films in the order mentioned here should provide a clear picture of why Shyamalan’s so uniquely brilliant. Anyone who’s a fan of his would likely enjoyKnock at the Cabinand realize that it’s a quintessential Shyamalan flick.
Based on a book, as a post-apocalyptic horror it features all the classical mysterious elements, tightly-wrought tension, and engrossing style that Shyamalan is best known for. He also managed to coax a brilliant performance out of Dave Bautista, proving critics of the former wrestler-turned-actor wrong about his acting skill.
Shyamalan himself had this to say toVarietyabout this unique ability to get the best out of actors.
“The only thing I don’t allow actors to do in the movies is feel sorry for themselves. I think audiences can find that indulgent in a way that’s offensive. But as soon as characters feel sorry for themselves, audiences are like: ‘I’m out.’ You can show anger, you can show fighting, you can be funny, but you have to be active in your own survival. If you feel sorry for yourself, that’s a form of giving up, and that’s not a circumstance I want to put them in.”
Rather than be persuaded by critics of the movie, watch the others, then give this one a chance. Like most fans of Shyamalan do, blocking out all the noise and unwarranted criticism that follows him around, should leave you with the bare fact that this one was a great movie that might have been raved about if made by anyone else.
9The Visit
More than a decade later,The Visit, became a different way for Shyamalan to stick to his preferred genre. As another horror film, this one was shot as a found-footage style movie. With Shyamalan’s penchant for scintillating tension-building, it soon became one ofthe best ones out there. It follows a pair of teenage siblings as they head to a remote farmhouse for a five-day visit to their estranged maternal grandparents, whom they have never met before.
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What follows is a scary descent into unexpected territory as this trip takes some terrifying turns. While not one of Shyamalan’s signature-style films, it does throw up a great twist and gets intensely frightening at times. It’s interesting to note that the film came in the wake of some of Shyamalan’s largest commercial failures, so he made it by borrowing $5 million against his own house and self-funding the movie.
10The Happening
So, even fans of M. Night Shyamalan often admit thatThe Happeningwasn’t his best work. With Mark Wahlberg in the lead, it follows the strange and mysterious happenings when people begin committing mass suicide. Despite its very poor ratings by critics, the film did feature many of Shyamalan’s signature elements. However, it wasn’t as exciting as his best films and came out a little flat in comparison. Nevertheless, if you enjoy his films, there’s still plenty about it to like
While he has made many other films, many that don’t conform tohis usual style, such asThe Last Airbender,After Earth,andLady in the Water, it’s probably better that you give these a watch after you’ve seen his best movies. Those three were pretty forgettable and panned badly. However, it’s probably fair to note that a lot of the criticism M. Night Shyamalan has received over the years has been harsher than he deserved.
When he’s on form, he’s truly one of the most brilliant, exciting, daring, and unique filmmakers around. This fact also means that he’s often doomed by his own standards since anything that isn’t utterly brilliant from him is often unfairly tossed aside by critics, even if they do have some good qualities. If you’re looking for another great film after these, you should also addDevilto your list. While Shyamalan only wrote the story and produced this one rather than direct it, it was still a fantastic watch and an unusual one for horror.
