The Best of M. Night Shyamalan

This is what I consider the very best of Director/Writer M. Night Shyamalan.

M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN is one of the most prolific, clever and creative filmmakers in Hollywood. He is widely known for his vision in the horror, thriller and mystery genres. Shyamalan has been lauded by fans and critics for his plot twists and thrilling finales in his films. He has been a box office draw and one of the most beloved directors of all time.

In this article, I am going share, what I believe to be, the very best of his career, spanning 30+ years.

5. THE VISIT (2015)

About: Two siblings become increasingly frightened by their grandparents' disturbing behavior while visiting them on vacation.

Analysis: The Visit is what really brought back the original M. Night Shyamalan we were hoping would return after his choice of project 'After Earth'. After Earth was a different Shyamalan than what we were really accustomed to. The Visit is scary, dready, dark and has two extremely likable main characters. It also brought back that lovely TWIST Shyamalan knows of well. It was truly a 'return to form' for one of the greatest directors of all time.

THE VISIT has a 6.3/10 rating on IMDB and made $98.5 million at the box office.

4. SPLIT (2016)

About: Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.

Analysis: Split is one of those films that I feel only M. Night Shyamalan could really possess as a filmmaker. Between the tone, pacing, twistiness and sense of dread, Shyamalan really coasted off well from his success with The Visit. Split is a fun and entertaining movie with a thunderous performance from James McAvoy, who plays sinister and psychotic rather well. Definitely one of Shyamalan's best films.

SPLIT has a 7.3/10 rating on IMDB and made $278.5 million at the box office.

3. THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)

About: Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.

Analysis: Arguably, in a lot of fans eyes, Shyamalan's greatest film of all time. The Sixth Sense is an incredible movie for many aspects. You have Bruce Willis playing a more vulnerable character, which is somewhat left field for him. You have Haley Joel Osment, who is one of the all time greatest child actors. Then you have Toni Collette, who is severely underrated in this film. Adding Shyamalan and his vision to this film is the cherry on top. One of my favorite films in general and one of Shyamalan's best works.

THE SIXTH SENSE has a 8.2/10 rating on IMDB and made $672.8 million at the box office.

2. SIGNS (2002)

About: A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.

Analysis: Signs definitely gave me one of the greatest 'scary' scenes of all time. You know the one. Coming off the extreme success of 'The Sixth Sense', Shyamalan followed up with Signs and delivered just about everything you can imagine Shyamalan could muster up. It's thrilling, dready, dramatic, expertly acted and well written. By far one of his absolute best works.

SIGNS has a 6.8/10 rating on IMDB and made $408.2 million at the box office.

1. THE VILLAGE (2004)

About: A series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.

Analysis: The film, I believe, to be M. Night Shyamalan's very best piece of filmmaking, The Village. Probably the most well crafted overall film of Shyamalan's works. The setting, characters, tone, dread, drama, acting, twist, finale is all so well done and I have watched this film an UNGODLY amount of times. I own the film digitally and physically. It's seriously one of the best thrillers of all time. And you know what the craziest part of it is? I still feel it's one of his most underrated films. It deserves to be right at the top of the list with others. My favorite Shyamalan movie and his absolute best work to this day.

THE VILLAGE has a 6.6/10 rating on IMDB and made $256.7 million at the box office.

Do you agree or disagree with this? Leave a comment below and discuss.