It would be one thing if The Sixth Sense was a clear fluke from a one-hit wonder director whose every film since was a disaster, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with M. Night Shyamalan. His sophomore effort on the big stage, Unbreakable, was arguably a stronger effort than his rookie picture. Sixth Sense was a highly effective thriller, building up long stretches of suspense and sustaining a compelling story right up to the famous revelation in the film’s conclusion. Unbreakable, though, has terrific elements of action and suspense, but also some interesting takes on the superhero genre and comic books, and all this being released before the “comic book movie” had really become a thing.
Maybe the late 90s aesthetic was more suited to Shyamalan’s writing and direction. But others have learned to adapt over time; maybe he just needs a little longer than most. His first two films are riveting stuff, demonstrating a filmmaker who is more than capable of establishing a distinct tone to the worlds he creates, one in which the supernatural is relatively believable and the stakes incredibly high because of it. It’s more disappointing that he hasn’t been able to relive his past successes (maybe the problem is that he’s trying to replicate them too closely?) because we know just how much skill he has shown to have in the past. If he’s done it before, he can do it again.
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