Critics tend to follow the trends of the audience. They'll be more responsive to his next movie now that The Visit is doing incredibly well at the box office and is easily his most popular film with audiences since Signs. He just needs to follow up The Visit with another film that keeps his fan base satisfied.
Wes Craven pretty much survived by making one iconic film a decade. The Hills Have Eyes in the 70s, Nightmare on Elm Street in the 80s, Scream in the 90s. Beyond that he had a handful of cult films that satisfied his target audience and gave new fans something to sink their teeth into. For every good film embraced by the audience, he had two or three that were complete travesties. Swamp Things, The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Shocker, Deadly Friend, A Vampire in Brooklyn, Cursed, etc. Over time these films have been largely forgotten and his legacy instead rests on those iconic hits.
Shyamalan has now gotten himself back to a place where people will be anticipating his next film. He needs to concentrate on something that satisfies his target audience. It doesn't need to be another The Sixth Sense, but a new Signs or The Visit that people enjoy and that becomes a talking point. Gradually this will impact positively on his other films. The tide has been turning on The Village for several years and there's a bit of love floating around for Lady in the Water as well.
One more film that's embraced to the same degree as The Visit and another to legitimatize himself and he'll be back on safe ground. He has at least two unmade projects that would probably have a large audience appeal (Reincarnate and The Connected) if he ever feels like getting them back on track.
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