The words “an M Night Shyamalan film” were once sure indicators of box-office success. The writer/director/cameo actor enjoyed huge hits with The Sixth Sense, Signs and The Village.
But things started falling apart. His shtick became repetitive (Philadelphia setting – check, precocious kid – check, twist at the end – check) and his name became synonymous with disaster. Lady in the Water was a contrived fantasy with an egotistical turn from Shyamalan, playing a writer whose words had the power to change the world. The Happening was a laughable thriller about plants turning against humans, which even Transformers 4 star Mark Wahlberg called “a bad movie”.
And when Shyamalan moved beyond his more familiar territory, things went from bad to unbelievably awful. The Last Airbender and After Earth were both loathed by critics and audiences. The director’s reputation was so muddied that a site was set up to crowdsource enough money to send him back to film school (it has only raised $714 so far, so empty your pockets).
Yet – and let’s give him points for persistence – Shyamalan is among us again – with a return to what he knows best, whether anyone wants to see it or not.
The trailer has just dropped for The Visit, Shyamalan’s understandably low-budget thriller about two children who worry that their grandparents are up to something dastardly. It’s an intriguing concept, and one Shyamalan seems a little unsure of. Worryingly, he’s wrapped the narrative in a found-footage framework, influenced by Paranormal Activity, The Last Exorcism and every other horror movie that’s given us headaches in recent years.
He is apparently trying to update his style, but it all feels a bit too late to work. Found-footage films have become parodic, and audiences have officially lost interest (Paranormal Activity 4 made half as much as the first film in the series), making Shyamalan’s sudden interest in the subgenre somewhat belated. Like your dad suddenly discovering Pharrell.
What will The Visit’s final twist be? I’m going for grandparents both being dead, not knowing it, in a dream, modern setting, with Shyamalan cameoing as the world’s greatest director and no one going to see it.
