M. Night Shyamalan: People pleasing can be dangerous »
Your movies can please some of the people some of the time.
But LADY IN THE WATER, THE HAPPENING, and THE VILLAGE will please none of the people all of the time…
He scored well with his latest show on TEE VEE.. Wayward Pines got acclaimed by reviewers and also praised by the critics who really matter: The TWEETERS..
But his past films were flops, in a sense. People recalled him from the early hits.. they gave the newer films a chance. But each time a new M NIGHT movie would appear in theaters, less people gave him that chance. His entire style became a mockery of itself.. laughter ensued at the wrong moments.. and instead of a creepy classic, we got a cheesy comedy.
I liked DEVIL. But not everyone did–and anyway, he did not write it, though it was based on a story by Shyamalan.
This 9/11, M Night Shyamalan has a new film coming out in theaters called THE VISIT. It has the makings of a classic. Or a horror gone wrong.
The premise takes Night back to the Pennsylvania roots — I liked that in his other films, as a Keystone Stater it’s cool to recognize places in his movies. Nonetheless, in this film, it centers on a brother and sister sent for a week to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm, where they discover that the grandparents are involved something deeply disturbing. Previews show that you need to go to bed by 9 or … the horror happens.
I am exited about another M NIGHT movie.
And I will be honest. While the rest of the world turned its collective back on Shyamalan, I liked most of the films the world didn’t. I liked LADY IN THE WATER and thought of it as a beautiful fairy tale with a dreamlike ending.. I thought the VILLAGE was an amazing anti-Bush and anti-war statement. I thought THE HAPPENING was only ruined by the acting.. I think THE VISIT may be great, as well.
But for me, the best M NIGHT SHYAMALAN movie was SIGNS. Let me explain why.. He set up an alien invasion premise by making it feel real. . After 9/11–not the release date for THE VISIT but the REAL 9/11 that changed America–he perfectly captured a dour mood of America.. and coupled it with a ‘breaking news’ event that united people. It was a play on 9/11, and also a movie less about aliens and more about how broken hearts can be mended with a bit of paranormal love from beyond the grave…
As for the VISIT? I will happily see it in theaters..
And hope for the best.