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With his second feature-film, the late ’90s horror phenomenon The Sixth Sense (1999), M. Night Shyamalan found his mainstream breakthrough. Since then, the director/producer/writer has made a career out of delivering this kind of mind-bending Spielberg-esque psychological horror movies, with shock-inducing plot twists that get you every time. At 52 years old, Shyamalan has written and directed a body of work complete with so many supernatural thrillers including a few independent films he created at the start of his career. While his movies are either a hit or miss there’s no denying his talent. One popular film that missed the mark was The Last Airbender (2010) which received a lot of backlash due to the white-washing of the main cast in addition to bad script and poor action scenes. The film did not live up to the hype of the Nickelodeon animated series; it is M. Night Shyamalan’s lowest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes with a 5% score on the tomatometer.
While still at NYU, Shyamalan wrote, directed, produced, and starred in this feature about a young man returning from the U.S. to his native India, to participate in a college exchange program. Aside from learning about his late father, he also learns about the cultural differences between Western and Eastern cultures. The film called Praying With Anger (1992) was awarded the “First Film Competition” award at the 1993 American Film Institute Festival, but it was never widely released; surprisingly, given the name Shyamalan has become, the movie is still hard to find anywhere, even on DVD or streaming. This was the first film M. Night Shyamalan created and has since directed close to 20 different films and TV shows.
M. Night Shyamalan who is gearing up for the release of his new film Knock at the Cabin on February 3rd, has directed many films including some unknown films from early on in his career and some popular classics. Read on for his best films as rated by critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
8 This Is M. Night Shyamalan’s Latest Released Film
Old (2021) is M. Night Shyamalan’s last film, released in 2021. The movie is about a vacationing family who discovers that the secluded beach where they’re relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly, reducing their entire lifespan into a single day. The film is an adaptation of the French-language Swiss graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters.
It stars Gael García Bernal (Mozart In The Jungle), Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), Thomasin McKenzie (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) and more. Old has a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes from mixed critic reviews with one critic even saying “Old is a fiendish idea only partially realized.”
7 M. Night Shyamalan Directed This Episode Of Wayward Pines Inn 2015
He directed the very first episode of Wayward Pines in 2015. Though the episode is unrated on Rotten Tomatoes, the entire series which spans two seasons over 20 episodes (all produced by Shyamalan), has an average rating of 60% from critics.
The series is about a Secret Service agent who goes to Wayward Pines, Idaho in search of two federal agents who were last seen in the rustic town. It soon becomes clear to him that he may not leave Wayward Pines alive. Wayward Pines is based on the novels of the same name by Blake Crouch.
6 Critics Were Surprised By This M. Night Shyamalan Film
In 2015, M. Night Shyamalan directed The Visit, which follows Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) deep into Pennsylvania farm country to meet their maternal grandparents for the first time. The two siblings become increasingly frightened by their grandparents’ disturbing behavior while visiting them, they discover a shocking secret that makes them begin to wonder if they’ll ever make it home.
Audience gave the movie a 51% score on Rotten Tomatoes, as critics gave it a higher score of 68% with a critic from The New Yorker complimenting Shyamalan, saying “for all its intelligence and craft, M. Night Shyamalan’s foray into the genre of found-footage horror has the feeling of homework done well.”
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5 This Movie Launched The Unbreakable Franchise
It is no surprise that Unbreakable (2000) is one of the top 5 projects by M. Night Shyamalan. In addition to the writing, it features some amazing talent including Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robin Wright. The movie which has a 70% Rotten Tomatoes critic score and 77% audience score also grossed $95 million at the box office.
According to The Guardian, the 2000 fantasy drama showed that superhero narratives can be told with patience and a straight face which changed the genre forever. Shyamalan has since made two additional movies for the Unbreakable franchise more than a decade and a half after the original film.
4 M. Night Shyamalan Appeared In This And Many Of His Other Films
Signs (2002) is not just the third project by M. Night Shyamalan, it is also his third-highest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes. Mel Gibson plays a widowed former reverend living on a Pennsylvania farm with his children and brother (Joaquin Phoenix) who discovers mysterious crop circles in their fields, hinting at something more sinister.
Shyamalan almost always appears in his own movies and Signs is not the exception; he plays Ray Teddy in the movie which has a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score.
3 This Is The Second Movie In The Unbreakable Franchise
Split (2016) is the second movie in the Unbreakable franchise, and another of M. Night Shyamalan’s top 5 projects. The movie stars James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy and even Shyamalan himself made an appearance in Split. With a 78% critic score, it is the highest rated movie in the Unbreakable franchise.
The third film Glass (2019), which sees Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis reprising their roles from the original movie to join McAvoy and Taylor-Joy, only managed to get a 36% from critics. Audiences on the other hand seem to like the movie somewhat; they gave Glass a 67% approval rating.
2 This Cult Classic Is M. Night Shyamalan’s Best Movie According To Rotten Tomatoes
In 1999, The Sixth Sense was the movie that gave M. Night Shyamalan his mainstream breakthrough, and it is his highest rated film to this day with an impressive score of 86% from endless positive reviews by critics.
The Sixth Sense also has a 90% score from audiences, which also makes it his highest ranked project as rated by fans. The cult classic is about a frightened, withdrawn boy who speaks with spirits; he seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
1 What Is M. Night Shyamalan’s Highest Rated Project On Rotten Tomatoes?
He has only directed four episodes of Servant, including the pilot episode, but M. Night Shyamalan serves as an executive producer for the Apple TV psychological horror series. The cast of Servant includes Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell amongst others. The series has an average rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes making it Shyamalan’s highest rated project in his decades long career.
