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M. Night Shyamalan: A theory

Published Saturday, August 07, 2004 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

Some would have you think that Shyamalan movies follow the inverse Star Trek Formula. If every odd Star Trek movie sucks and every even-numbered Trek cinema is indeed verite, then for Shyamalan, the inverse it true: The Sixth Sense and Signs are good; Unbreakable and The Village suck.
I'd suggest another view.
In his odd-numbered films, M. Night offers true suspense. No matter how helter-skelter the plot, we love the movie and fall for the plot twist. But in the even-numbered films, M. Night must work hard for his money. So hard for his money. And while the movies may not shock us completely or truly, we better treat him right, for his efforts are sincere and well-made.