Decider Debate: Is M. Night Shyamalan The Worst?

M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most polarizing figures in recent film history. On the one hand, he’s written, directed and produced massively successful and influential films like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. On the other hand, he might be the literal worst. Decider’s own Meghan O’Keefe and Olivia Armstrong are split on the issue and are duking it out in a Decider Debate.

Meghan: M. Night Shyamalan is the worst and should be banned from making any more movies.

Olivia: I don’t totally disagree. However, his early films definitely deserve some credit.

Meghan: Okay, sure. Unbreakable is a cool film and Toni Collette is great in The Sixth Sense (gotta love that Teamster accent). I suppose that Shyamalan does have a specific point of view and I think we need more directors with specific points of view. However, Shyamalan’s entire point of view can be boiled down to punking the audience. A film needs to be more than a twist ending. It has to have plot and characters and stuff.

Olivia: So you’re saying Signs doesn’t have a plot or characters? Signs was great because the plot was so strong. You knew right off the bat that the aliens were coming — it was just a matter of when, which amped up the suspense factor. As far as characters go, was Mel Gibson’s character not developed? Shyamalan might have let this crucial pillar of storytelling slip away in his recent work, but the reasons why his twist endings have had such power in the past is because we believe in the characters. Don’t act like you weren’t surprised at the end of The Sixth Sense.

Meghan: 15 years ago, I was sitting in the back of a minivan with my high school best friend, Heather, and she told me that I would not believe the ending of The Sixth Sense. I replied, “What? Is Bruce Willis dead the whole time?” So, no, I wasn’t surprised by the end of The Sixth Sense. I called it in the back of a minivan when I was 14. As for Signs… Yeah, there’s plot and character. However the aliens are defeated because the little girl leaves water glasses all over the house. I mean, sure, we all leave cups lying around, but who leaves that many water glasses all over a house? It just doesn’t add up for me. Speaking of characters we relate to, how did you like After Earth? Did you know M. Night Shyamalan directed that? Because he did.

Olivia: I never put myself in the situation of watching After Earth. Why anyone would see a film starring Will Smith and his son is beyond me. People were mad that it wasn’t good. Really, folks? You expected that to be good? Anywoo, back to his earlier mystery material: Shyamalan is a classic case of peaking too early. He came out with films that felt fresh for the time period, and his Sgt. Pepper’s was The Sixth Sense.  Maybe it didn’t blow you away, but most people were blown away by it — especially if they went into it not knowing anything about the plot or the ending. Unfortunately for Shyamalan, his twist endings have become gimmicky, which cheapen the stories. If you are one of the few people in the world who have somehow avoided the “I see dead people” line and know nothing about Shyamalan’s more recent, shitty work, I strongly believe you would enjoy the suspense and mystery of The Sixth Sense. To me, that’s solid filmmaking.

Meghan: Okay, here’s what’s frustrating about M. Night Shyamalan: he can make good movies. You’re right. If you don’t know anything about The Sixth Sense before you see The Sixth Sense, it’s a taut and engaging thriller. When it came out, Shyamalan was compared to Hitchcock and Spielberg. However, Shyamalan’s body of work shows that he cares less about trying to make great movies and more about making great plot twists. He could be one of the great auteurs working today, but he’s not. That’s why he sucks. He’d rather pull off a trick than do good work. And by the way, I had to see After Earth for work. A bigger question, though, is why would someone direct After Earth?

Olivia: Yikes, I’m sorry to hear that. You should have gone to HR about such an assignment. I like how you brought up Shyamalan being compared to Hitchcock and Spielberg back in the day. He might care less about making great movies now, but back in 1999, he was churning out some solid material. Sadly, I have to agree, he can make good movies, but he doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean he never did. I think I’ll end my argument by saying this: Shyamalan was a damn good filmmaker from 1998 to 2002 and he should have ended his career on a high note after the success of Signs. Let’s not completely hate on the guy for making shitty work now. He had a solid run that he tried to drag out longer than it needed to be.

Meghan: Okay, I will give you all of that. M. Night Shyamalan is not the worst. However, he should seriously consider rebooting his career. He’s not without talent and he could still turn things around and produce good work. The question is will producers back another original M. Night Shyamalan story? Or will he be forced to direct dreck like After Earth?

Oh dear God, is M. Night Shyamalan’s career on the cusp of having a twist ending?

Today marks the 15th Anniversary of The Sixth Sense and it’s M. Night Shyamalan’s birthday.

Photos Courtesy of the Everett Collection