MovieChat Forums > The Sixth Sense (1999) Discussion > What the hell happened to Shyamalan?

What the hell happened to Shyamalan?

posted 9 years ago by nine_inch_nailed
13 replies | jump to latest

This is a great movie. A genuinely great movie that surprisingly can be watched many times despite knowing the major twist (which must have been referenced and parodied a million times by now).

It's spooky, emotional, dramatic. The special effects are great, the direction, the cinematography and the simple score are all brilliant. Above all else though, the acting is top notch. No small feat given a child is involved (think The Phantom Menace, which came out in the same year).

So what the hell happened? It's been a while but I remember enjoying Unbreakable, and being left hugely disappointed by Signs and The Village. Those last two films are masterpieces compared to what he's put out since, though. Lady in the Water, The Last Airbender and, oh sweet mother of mercy... The Happening! I didn't bother with After Earth, or the recent horror film. How can someone put out something as wonderful as this (and iirc, Unbreakable also), and then continue to crap out excrement after excrement?

________
Armchair Critic Law 38:

If a film has a plot twist, overanalyse.

[–] Ithilfaen 8 years ago

What happened is that he's a second rate director who lucked out and started taking himself for Hitchcock.

The movie's worth is mostly due to the performances and the character story behind the twists and turn. All his other movies were all about the twists, to the point he was bending backwards to hide vital information so that he could keep people in the dark about the twists

He does it here too with dubious scenes and "clever" edits and huge plot gaps but the kid's story, performance and the bigger picture distract us from it.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

[–] sepsism 8 years ago

The movie's worth is mostly due to the performances and the character story behind the twists and turn.

But the director gets the performances out of the actors. You can have great actors but still end up with a potential mess if the director cannot direct the actors. The story and plot twist are phenomenal, which he wrote. How is he not responsible for these factors that you're praising? I'm confused.

Yes clever edits, this is a bad thing why?

I'm no fan of Shyamalan, he buried himself pretty quickly after this but credit where credit is due for The Sixth Sense. A fluke? Possibly.

UNCOMPROMISING UNDERGROUND FILTH

[–] sepsism 8 years ago

Definitely check out The Visit. It doesn't reach the heights of The Sixth Sense (nothing he does ever will I'd say) but still a creepy and effective horror IMHO. Not that the two can really be compared as this is found footage style.

As for the Sixth Sense being a "fluke", it's possible but I watched it again last night and the direction is legitimately brilliant so I can't explain where or how he went so wrong later. Arrogance//hurbis possibly as others have pointed out.

UNCOMPROMISING UNDERGROUND FILTH

[–] kmags84 8 years ago

If people think he's a Bad Filmmaker or a One-Hit Wonder, they're out of their mind. He made a bunch of films that are getting re-analyzed today and the layers are peeling back. Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village, Unbreakable and The Visit are all very good, if not solid films that have more to say than most. He's very crafty, however, I do think his Ego got to him a bit. Even when viewed correctly, The Happening is much better than the credit it gets. Lady in the Water has a huge Cult Following. He was humbled after his 2 disasters. Will Smith was the cause of one, he was directly the cause of the other. He then made The Visit on a shoestring budget for his work, it was absolutely a successful film. He's stated he's looking to hit back at his critics and I guarantee he becomes a fan favorite again.