To mark the release of his latest movie “Trap”, I have constructed a list ranking every movie directed by Indian born American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan to date. His career peaked incredibly early which saw huge financial and critical success in the late 90’s and early 00’s, before he quickly became subject to derision following a string of critically panned theatrical releases, a number of which are considered to be some of the worst of all time. Despite these set backs however, the once lauded filmmaker continues to deliver original properties in a market that is crying out for unique voices, and has since seen his stock go up in recent years.
14. The Last Airbender (2010)
Cast: Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, Cliff Curtis
Synopsis: Nothing could prepare Aang, a twelve-year-old boy, for the shock of discovering his identity. As the last successor of the Avatars, he has no choice but to undertake the major mission to save earth.
My Rating: 0.5/5
13. Lady in the Water (2006)
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey Wright, Sarita Choudhury, Freddy Rodriguez, Bill Irwin, Jared Harris
Synopsis: Cleveland Heep, an apartment superintendent, encounters a girl swimming in the complex’s pool and learns that she is actually a magical character from a story who wants to return to her world.
My Rating: 1/5
12. The Happening (2008)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley
Synopsis: Elliot, a science teacher, is on the run with his family as America is swept by a mysterious toxin in the air that causes people to kill themselves.
My Rating: 1/5
11. After Earth (2013)
Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Smith
Synopsis: Kitai and his father Cypher crash-land on Earth, 1000 years after natural disasters forced humans to flee it. Now Kitai must tread uncharted terrain to signal for help after Cypher injures himself.
My Rating: 1/5
10. Glass (2019)
Cast: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Samuel L. Jackson
Synopsis: While David confronts Kevin, a group of armed men intervene. Now locked in a mental facility with Elijah, the two find their superhuman abilities being questioned by Ellie, a secretive psychiatrist.
My Rating: 2/5
9. Trap (2024)
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill
Synopsis: A man and his teenage daughter realize they’re at the centre of a dark and sinister event while watching a concert.
My Rating: 2.5/5
8. Old (2021)
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, Aaron Pierre, Embeth Davidtz, Emun Elliott
Synopsis: A couple who is about to get divorced takes their children to a tropical resort on a vacation. Their trip soon turns into a nightmare when they end up on a secluded beach that makes them age rapidly.
My Rating: 3/5
7. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
Cast: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint
Synopsis: Andrew, Eric and their adopted daughter, Wen, travel to the countryside for a vacation. But their family’s time together is interrupted by four armed strangers demanding an unthinkable sacrifice.
My Rating: 3/5
6. The Visit (2015)
Cast: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn
Synopsis: Becca and Tyler plan a week-long stay at their grandparents’ place, whom they have never seen. Little do they know that their visit will be the most terrifying experience of their lives.
My Rating: 3/5
5. The Village (2004)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson
Synopsis: An isolated town lives in fear of an unknown monster from the surrounding woods. But when one from the community is badly injured, a blind girl sets out into the woods to find help from beyond.
My Rating: 3/5
4. Split (2016)
Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley
Synopsis: Kevin, who is suffering from dissociative identity disorder and has 23 alter egos, kidnaps three teenagers. They must figure out his friendly personas before he unleashes his 24th personality.
My Rating: 3.5/5
3. Signs (2002)
Cast: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin
Synopsis: Graham Hess along with his family migrates to a farmhouse where crop circles begin to appear. At first, he ignores the signs but is alarmed when alien activities are spotted around the world.
My Rating: 3.5/5
2. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Haley Joel Osment
Synopsis: Cole Sear, a troubled child, is gifted with a unique power to communicate with the dead. He consults an equally disturbed psychologist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe, to help him out of this strange problem.
My Rating: 3.5/5
1. Unbreakable (2000)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright
Synopsis: David, a security guard, survives a fatal train accident, only to be tracked down by a man named Elijah Price, who claims that David is blessed with superhuman abilities.
My Rating: 4/5
Dan Loves Film 
I totally agree with the order you have them in. I think when you go to see Shyamalan (although he’s a genius at making films) movies, it’s a bit hit or miss. But I try to see every one of them because when it hits, it’s good. 🙂 Have a terrific day!
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Barring the odd exception, he continues to make his own original properties, which is rare these days
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Yes, that is a good point. 🙂
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A great list, which to me shows his over-reliance on the “twist” ending and lack of storytelling focus in so many of his films – I have no issue with the concepts and stories, but for me so many of these disappoint. I will admit there are a few I haven’t seen but that is mostly due to the reviews I’ve seen.
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His end product often lets him down but comes up with interesting ideas, maybe he should pass them onto someone
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Yes, I’m all for the ideas he comes up with, but not sure what is going on in the execution…he might be too locked into his vision to accept guidance at all…
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If he continues to fund his own work, he can crack on I suppose haha
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I think I would put The Sixth Sense as #1. It might just be because it really was the first one to hit us with that shocking twist that no one was expecting (although I did sort of figure out what was going on halfway through). i haven’t seen all of them but maybe I will try to get through them sometime soon!
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I think the sixth sense is great as a first watch, but once you watch it a second time there are many plotholes that make it fall apart in places
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I fell asleep during Unbreakable. I usually call that one Unendurable.
My hat’s off to you. I don’t think i could rank Shyamalan’s movies without having a 13-way tie for last place.
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I feel the bottom 4 are absolutely dreadful. The top 4 are solid movies and the middle bunch are meh/watchable
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Nice one
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Great post. The mind-blowing end to the 6th sense was a cinematic version of someone like Cristopher Cross… really hard to top your debut. But I did see and enjoy 1-2 others on the list. Saving for future nights of streaming 😎
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