M. Night Shyamalan is living proof that (Hollywood) cinema can be more than just rapid cuts, explosive action, and overpowering background music. His films remind us that storytelling, atmosphere, and emotional depth are just as powerful as spectacle. A deep dive.
Scene from Split (Copyright Universal Pictures International France)
“I see dead people.” This chilling line, whispered by a terrified young boy, became one of the most iconic phrases in film history. In the fall of 1999, The Sixth Sense took the world by storm. Eleven-year-old Haley Joel Osment earned an Oscar nomination for his haunting portrayal of Cole Sear, a boy tormented by visions of the dead. Meanwhile, Bruce Willis, known for his tough-guy action roles, delivered one of the most nuanced and emotional performances of his career as psychiatrist Dr. Malcolm Crowe. But who was the mastermind behind this groundbreaking film? Who crafted its original, spine-chilling story and directed it with such precision and restraint?
At the time, few knew his name. He was simply referred to as “that Indian director with the impossible-to-pronounce name.” His name was Manoj Night Shyamalan. With The Sixth Sense, he didn’t just redeem a struggling film career—he became an overnight sensation, a Hollywood prodigy, and one of the most talked-about filmmakers of his generation.
Indian Roots and a Spiritual Upbringing
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan was born on August 6, 1970, in southwest India to Nelliate C. and Jayalakshmi Shyamalan. However, within a year, his family returned to the United States, where they had originally emigrated in the 1960s, settling in Philadelphia. Raised in a household of accomplished medical professionals, Shyamalan grew up in a stable and privileged environment, benefiting from a highly disciplined education. He attended private Catholic schools, first Waldron Mercy Academy, then Episcopal Academy, where he underwent a rigorous academic upbringing. Despite the Christian influence in his schooling, his family also introduced him to Hindu spiritual traditions at home. This exposure to two distinct religious philosophies shaped his worldview early on.
As film scholar Bernd Zywietz noted in Film-Dienst:
“It seems that this religious interplay has turned Shyamalan into a wanderer between worlds: the search for destiny and higher knowledge are his themes.”
Indeed, this duality of spiritual, metaphysical, and existential exploration would later become a hallmark of his filmmaking, defining the core themes of many of his most famous works.
Shyamalan at the Tisch School of the Arts in 2007
Shyamalan’s early cinematic influences included Spike Lee, Alfred Hitchcock, and Steven Spielberg. Inspired by these filmmakers, he began making short films at the age of twelve. By the time he was seventeen, he had already completed 45 home-produced films—an early testament to his unwavering passion for storytelling.After graduating from high school, he pursued film studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, earning a bachelor’s degree. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Bhavna, with whom he now has three daughters. After completing his studies, he made a significant personal and professional decision: he changed his name from Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan to M. Night Shyamalan.
A Difficult Start in the Film Industry
In 1992, while still a student, Shyamalan directed his first feature-length film, Praying with Anger, financing it primarily with his own savings and funding from the American Film Institute. The film, a semi-autobiographical drama about an Indian-American student who travels to India to reconnect with his heritage, received praise and was even screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. However, it remained a small, independent project and did not launch him into mainstream Hollywood.
His next film, Wide Awake (1998), proved to be a major setback. The comedy-drama followed a young boy grappling with religion and embarking on a search for God—a premise that failed to resonate with both audiences and critics. The film was a box office disaster, and Hollywood quickly lost confidence in the young director.
At a crossroads in his career, Shyamalan faced a defining moment. It was then that he had an idea: “Maybe I should just turn the tables—A boy confronted with religion but haunted by ghosts.” From this thought, he began writing what would become his breakthrough screenplay—The Sixth Sense.
Between Recognition and Rejection
Shyamalan’s breakthrough came in 1999, when Walt Disney Company purchased his script for The Sixth Sense for $3 million, also bringing him on as director. No one could have predicted the film’s meteoric success—the psychological thriller became a global phenomenon, grossing $672 million worldwide and earning six Academy Award nominations.
Dubbed a “gentle, subtle horror”, The Sixth Sense cemented Shyamalan’s reputation as a master of atmosphere and storytelling twists. Bruce Willis, who played the lead role, was so impressed that he immediately signed on for Shyamalan’s next film, Unbreakable (2000). The superhero thriller, while not reaching the same cultural impact as The Sixth Sense, was well-received and has since gained a cult following.
Shyamalan’s next big hit came in 2002 with Signs, a science-fiction thriller starring Mel Gibson, which grossed over $400 million worldwide. However, as his distinctive storytelling style became more recognizable—slow, atmospheric pacing with sudden moments of shock—critics began accusing him of repeating himself.
His 2004 film The Village became a turning point. While commercially successful, critics were deeply divided. Some praised its poetic cinematography, while others ripped apart its plot structure and ending. The backlash only intensified with Lady in the Water (2006) and The Happening (2008), both of which were harshly criticized and commercial disappointments.
His biggest career setback came with The Last Airbender (2010), an adaptation of the beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The film was universally panned, particularly in the U.S., where fans and critics alike rejected it outright. The sci-fi adventure After Earth (2013), starring Will and Jaden Smith, performed slightly better at the box office but was again slammed by critics.
After this string of failures, Shyamalan made a bold decision: he returned to his roots, financing his own films and focusing on smaller, creative projects. His found-footage horror The Visit (2015) was a surprise success, combining dark humor with psychological thrills. He followed this with Split (2017), an indirect sequel to Unbreakable, which was both a critical and commercial triumph. This paved the way for Glass (2019), the final installment in his Eastrail 177 Trilogy, which performed well at the box office but received mixed to negative reviews from critics.His recent films—Old (2021), Knock at the Cabin (2023), and Trap (2024)—were all self-financed, proving his commitment to creative independence. Though divisive among critics, they were moderate box office successes, ensuring that Shyamalan’s films never lose money. Despite the ups and downs of his career, he remains one of Hollywood’s most unique and unpredictable filmmakers.
One-Hit Wonder or Underrated Genius?
Critics of M. Night Shyamalan often dismiss him as a “one-hit wonder”, arguing that The Sixth Sense was a fluke rather than a testament to his talent. They claim that he has never truly replicated its success and that his directorial style is out of sync with mainstream expectations. Some even suggest that he should hire a screenwriter to improve his storytelling.
However, this argument is inherently paradoxical. If Shyamalan were to outsource his screenplays, his films would no longer be his own vision. His distinctive storytelling—marked by slow-burn suspense, atmospheric cinematography, and subtle psychological horror—would be lost. Additionally, critics frequently label his films as “too predictable”, claiming that The Sixth Sense’s twist ending was obvious and that The Village’s climax could be easily foreseen.
But the predictability debate misses the point. The real question is not whether his twists are shocking, but whether his stories are engaging, well-crafted, and thematically rich. By reducing his work to mere plot twists, critics overlook his true strengths—his ability to build tension, explore profound existential themes, and create deeply immersive cinematic experiences.
Furthermore, the claim that Shyamalan is commercially unsuccessful is demonstrably false. His first four major films—The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village—collectively grossed $1.6 billion worldwide, an astonishing achievement for original films not based on established franchises like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man, or Batman. If we include his entire filmography (from Wide Awake to Glass), his movies have earned over $3.2 billion globally, not even counting DVD or Blu-ray sales.
But does this make him a visionary filmmaker ahead of his time? Perhaps the more fitting description is that Shyamalan is a master craftsman with a distinctive cinematic language. Unlike many modern directors who rely on overblown CGI, relentless action, and formulaic horror tropes, Shyamalan takes a subtler, more artistic approach. His films are characterized by methodical pacing, unsettling sound design, and expressive cinematography, drawing audiences into his eerie, dreamlike worlds.
Moreover, his films are rarely just straightforward horror or fantasy stories—they are often deeply philosophical and thematically layered. His works explore themes such as faith (Signs), self-discovery (Unbreakable), fear and isolation (The Village), mythology (Lady in the Water), and even moral dilemmas (Knock at the Cabin). His approach to horror and suspense is intellectual, avoiding cheap scares in favor of psychological unease and thought-provoking narratives.
Yet, despite this, some critics fault him for not being more explicit in his themes and metaphors. They argue that his films require too much interpretation—a strange complaint, given that the joy of cinema often lies in its mysteries and open-ended symbolism. Should films really spell out every message on the screen? The very idea seems absurd.
Scene from Lady in the Water, which was included in the TOP 10 Films of 2006 by the well-known Cahiers du Cinéma (Copyright Warner Brothers Pictures)
Interestingly, even films that were initially dismissed by critics have gained recognition in artistic circles. Lady in the Water, which was panned upon release, was included in Cahiers du Cinéma’s Top 10 Films of 2006, a prestigious honor. The highly regarded film scholar David Bordwell even wrote a defense of the film. Likewise, The Village, Split, and Trap have all appeared in Cahiers du Cinéma’s annual top ten lists, further cementing his status as a filmmaker with aesthetic and philosophical depth.So, is Shyamalan truly a genius? Perhaps. But it might be more accurate to call him a master of his craft. Just as Woody Allen is a master of human relationships and David Lynch a master of surrealism and absurdity, Shyamalan is undoubtedly a master of subtle, atmospheric storytelling—a filmmaker whose work lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.
Reversing Genre Conventions
M. Night Shyamalan stands apart from Hollywood’s mainstream formulas, consistently developing a distinct cinematic style that defies the conventions of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. While his films are often categorized within these genres, he actively subverts their traditional rules, creating stories that blur the lines between expectations and artistic reinvention.
For example, Unbreakable, Split, and Glass are commonly labeled superhero films, while Signs is classified as science fiction. While these films retain some classic genre elements, such as the good vs. evil narrative seen in superhero films like Batman, X-Men, or Spider-Man, they fundamentally differ in execution. Unlike the fast-paced, action-heavy spectacle of conventional superhero movies, Shyamalan’s approach is slow, introspective, and psychological.
Film scholars frequently reclassify his works, calling Unbreakable a melodrama or mystical thriller and Split a psychological thriller rather than a traditional superhero film. Similarly, Signs is more accurately described as a thriller infused with existential and emotional depth, rather than a sci-fi blockbuster. The Village, often mistaken for a horror film, is just as much a period drama and a love story, as Shyamalan himself has described.
Scene from the “anti-disaster film” The Happening (Copyright 20th Century Fox)
This genre-defying tendency extends further—The Happening (and, to some extent, Knock at the Cabin) has been interpreted as an “anti-disaster film”, turning the typical apocalyptic thriller inside out. Meanwhile, The Last Airbender was Shyamalan’s highly personal take on a Hollywood blockbuster, blending spiritual themes with CGI-driven spectacle.Hans-Georg Rodek, writing for the German newspaper Die Welt, summarizes Shyamalan’s distinct approach:
“The Village confirms Mr. Night Shyamalan as an outsider in the mainstream, as someone who paints feelings with a fine brush instead of suffocating the screen with overloaded effects.”
A Hollywood Rebel
Shyamalan’s approach to filmmaking is fundamentally different from the fast-paced, hyper-edited style that dominates modern Hollywood. While most contemporary blockbusters rely on rapid cuts and high-energy sequences, he prefers a slow, deliberate rhythm, allowing tension to build naturally. His use of long takes and minimal editing gives scenes a sense of realism and emotional depth, enabling actors to fully immerse themselves in their performances.
A key example of this contrast is the way Shyamalan structures his shots. While many Hollywood films use thousands of different camera perspectives to create a sense of urgency and movement, his films contain far fewer. The Sixth Sense, for example, has fewer than 700 different shots, Signs just over 500, and Unbreakable barely over 300. Compared to the two to three thousand shots found in most modern blockbusters, his films feel much more restrained and meditative. This stylistic choice allows audiences to engage more deeply with the characters, focusing on their emotions and psychological states rather than being overwhelmed by excessive visual stimulation.
This distinction became especially apparent in the summer of 2010 when The Last Airbender and Christopher Nolan’s Inception were released. Both films were positioned as high-concept, effects-driven blockbusters, but their execution could not have been more different. Shyamalan’s film was slowly paced, visually elegant, and focused on a spiritual message, while Inception was an adrenaline-fueled spectacle filled with rapid-fire action, loud, pulsating music, and constant exposition. Nolan’s film, despite its innovative premise, was often criticized for being too frantic, overloaded with complex mechanics, and leaving little room for emotional connection. In contrast, The Last Airbender, though flawed in its execution, at least attempted to create a sense of depth and serenity within its world, making it stand out as a more introspective take on the blockbuster formula. Shyamalan’s resistance to Hollywood’s obsession with speed and spectacle sets him apart from his contemporaries. Instead of chasing trends, he remains committed to his unique vision, crafting films that unfold at their own rhythm, emphasizing atmosphere and character over relentless action. While this approach has divided audiences and critics alike, it has also made him one of the most distinctive voices in modern cinema, a filmmaker willing to challenge the industry’s expectations while still working within it.
Shyamalan: An Outsider Within Hollywood
Despite his unconventional approach, Shyamalan continues to work within the Hollywood system, partnering with major studios while retaining his independent creative vision. His career embodies a paradox—he is both a Hollywood filmmaker and an industry outsider, pushing against the very system he operates within.Ultimately, Shyamalan isn’t just a director who defies expectations—he is an agitator, a filmmaker determined to challenge Hollywood’s increasingly formulaic approach to storytelling. In a landscape dominated by franchises, CGI spectacle, and fast-paced editing, he remains a rare cinematic rebel, carving out a space for slow-burning tension, emotional depth, and thoughtful storytelling.
