Whether you see M. Night Shyamalan as a genius with a few missteps or a mediocre director with occasional successes, his films are rarely dull. Personally, I find every Shyamalan movie fascinating, even if they often leave me banging my head in frustration.
Shyamalan is one of the few contemporary directors with a distinct style and seems content with his brand of low-budget horror, regardless of critical or audience reaction. His dedication to his craft deserves commendation and even celebration. Few writer-directors take as many creative risks as Shyamalan, for better or worse.
With his latest film, Trap, now in theaters, let’s take a look back at his 30-plus-year career. Below, you’ll find M. Night Shyamalan’s films ranked from worst to best. Don’t expect a last-second twist — this ranking is exactly what you’d expect.
16. Praying with Anger (1992)
Praying with Anger, Shyamalan’s debut film, reflects his early inexperience in both direction and scriptwriting. Although the exploration of cultural clashes between Indian and Western values is intriguing, the movie doesn’t fully realize its ambitious themes. It’s a film best suited for completionists and those interested in tracing Shyamalan’s evolution as a filmmaker.
15. After Earth (2013)
The Happening is often considered Shyamalan’s weakest effort, yet it still bears many of his signature creative quirks. After Earth, on the other hand, lacks any of the director’s distinctive style, resulting in a bland sci-fi vehicle primarily designed to showcase Jaden Smith. There’s little to enjoy beyond the lavish CGI landscapes and a handful of cameos from Will Smith.
14. The Happening (2008)
The Happening is the kind of film every director needs to make at least once—a movie so flawed it forces them to reevaluate their creative direction. It took Shyamalan five years to bounce back from this debacle starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. Still, without The Happening, we likely wouldn’t have gotten Split, The Visit, or Glass. So, I’m willing to cut Shyamalan some slack. The pressures of Hollywood clearly disrupted his creative process. After back-to-back critical misfires with The Village and Lady in the Water, it’s evident that The Happening was a bold attempt to reclaim the fame and glory of his early career.
Unfortunately, The Happening reaches Ed Wood levels of terribleness, characterized by poor acting, a ludicrous plot, and cringeworthy dialogue.
Is The Happening so bad that it’s good? Not quite, although there’s a certain diabolical charm in the gruesome ways people choose to end their lives—the death-by-lawnmower scene is a standout.
13. Wide Awake (1998)
What happens when you team Shyamalan with late-90s Rosie O’Donnell? You get the painfully dull Wide Awake, a genial family comedy that feels more like a formulaic Disney knockoff than a distinctive piece of filmmaking from the man who would release The Sixth Sense just a year later. The film is decent enough, but there’s nothing particularly original about it, which, in retrospect, is rather extraordinary given Shyamalan’s later reputation for unique storytelling.
12. The Last Airbender (2010)
Critics and audiences balked at Shyamalan’s take on the popular cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. I dug it and would have welcomed more. This was the director’s first and only foray into blockbuster action territory, and while his trademark clunky dialogue is often painful to hear, his set pieces are undeniably thrilling and often quite emotional.
11. Lady in the Water (2006)
If The Village revealed cracks in Shyamalan’s style, Lady in the Water shattered his reputation with a sledgehammer. Wildly ambitious to a fault, this would-be fantasy gets so caught up in its own convoluted narrative that it’s hard to imagine a Hollywood producer approving the script without some life-threatening coercion.
While I usually admire Shyamalan’s go-for-broke attitude, there’s something to be said about a filmmaker who casts himself as the world’s savior in a movie filled with giant eagles, tree wolves, and enough nonsensical plot twists to leave viewers with a metaphorical hangover. I understand what Shyamalan was aiming for, but it’s baffling that a director of his caliber couldn’t see that the story was fundamentally flawed from the start.
Lady in the Water has two redeeming qualities: James Newton Howard’s lush score and Paul Giamatti’s outstanding performance. Everything else is best forgotten.
10. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
Knock at the Cabin is tense, well-acted—especially by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge—and features some intriguing ideas. While I enjoyed the film, the more I reflect on it, the more I find myself scratching my head. After two hours of intense buildup, the movie ends rather abruptly without any of Shyamalan’s zany twists, resulting in a well-meaning, ultimately flaccid tale of good versus evil.
9. Old (2021)
Old weaves a deliciously morbid fairy tale that falls apart upon closer scrutiny. Shyamalan ramps up the creep factor and maintains the tension throughout, often throwing creative Hail Marys to capture our attention. At one point, two teenagers, stranded on a mysterious beach that accelerates aging, have sex. Within minutes, the girl is suddenly pregnant and forced to give birth moments later.
Old isn’t so much a fully realized film as it is an ambitious concept that only occasionally delivers. Nevertheless, Shyamalan remains one of the most audacious filmmakers, and Old, his fourteenth film, showcases his continued willingness to dive headfirst into a concept, regardless of how outlandish the outcome.
8. Trap (2024)
Over the years, I’ve given M. Night Shyamalan the benefit of the doubt. His early films showed real promise and still resonate with me today. However, after consecutive disappointments with Old, Knock at the Cabin, and now Trap, I’m starting to question whether the auteur once hailed by Newsweek as “The Next Spielberg” can overcome his current creative slump.
Trap highlights Shyamalan’s tendency to sabotage his own work. The premise is intriguing: a serial killer attending a concert with his daughter discovers the event is a trap designed to capture him. He must escape without alerting his daughter.
Unfortunately, Shyamalan derails the film with a convoluted third-act side quest that abandons the clever reversal of the one-man army premise for increasingly outlandish and contrived scenarios involving Saleka’s character. The film squanders the goodwill built in the opening act and ultimately falls short of its potential.
Still, the initial setup is engaging, featuring an off-brand Josh Hartnett and solid production values. Shyamalan skillfully follows “The Butcher” as he navigates complex scenarios, using stolen key cards and police radios, eavesdropping on conversations, and outwitting his pursuers. Hartnett’s performance makes us genuinely root for his escape.
Trap isn’t a complete disaster, but it misses the mark and could have been so much more.
7. The Village (2004)
There’s much to admire about The Village, from its incredible cast—led by a superb Bryce Dallas Howard—to Roger Deakins’ striking cinematography and James Newton Howard’s impressive score. It’s a shame, then, that Shyamalan tarnishes a captivating film with a preposterous and unnecessary twist.
The Village tells the story of a quaint community living a blissful life in a lush, isolated locale surrounded by woods. The residents, who frolic and play while avoiding the color red (which attracts the monsters living in the trees), face a crisis when one of their own is injured. Ivy (Howard), a brave blind woman, must venture into the unknown to find a cure.
The film shines in its early scenes, showcasing the simplicity of country life, love, and survival. While the finale ties into the broader themes of loss and sacrifice, one can’t help but wish Shyamalan had embraced his original kooky premise and delivered a genuine horror tale with real monsters.
6. Glass (2019)
Two decades after The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan released Glass during the superhero craze. Reactions were mixed—some loved it, others hated it, and many were confused. If you expected it to be like Iron Man, that’s on you.
For Shyamalan fans, it’s an unconventional superhero film that showcases his unique style. While it has its clunky moments and occasionally stumbles by breaking from formula, it remains a fascinating and often thrilling piece of filmmaking with standout performances from Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and James McAvoy.
5. The Visit (2015)
After a series of creative misfires, Shyamalan made a comeback with The Visit, a creepy and often amusing film about two siblings (Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould) who visit their grandparents and uncover unsettling secrets.
Though the found footage genre had become tired by 2015, Shyamalan still manages to shock and disturb with inventive scares (the crawl space scene is particularly nightmarish). While the plot has more holes than Swiss cheese, The Visit is a clever, fun, and delightfully morbid dark comedy.
4. Unbreakable (2000)
Slow, atmospheric, and haunting, Unbreakable offers a thrilling deconstruction of the superhero mythos. Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, an ordinary man who starts to reassess his life after surviving a catastrophic train accident. Samuel L. Jackson plays Elijah, a wheelchair-bound comic book dealer convinced that David may have extraordinary powers.
Eduardo Serra’s dark cinematography perfectly captures Shyamalan’s morbid brilliance, resulting in a captivating character study with plenty of intriguing twists.
3. Split (2016)
Shyamalan’s brilliance shines in Split, a shocking and delightfully campy psychological thriller about Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young girl kidnapped by Dennis (James McAvoy), a man with 23 distinct (and dangerous) personalities. While its slow pace might deter some, patient viewers will find a wickedly funny, intensely gripping horror drama, complete with a late twist that actually delivers.
2. Signs (2002)
I’m a sucker for Signs. It may be a bit cheesy, and the ending disappoints after two hours of careful buildup, but Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix deliver solid performances, while Shyamalan’s taut direction and James Newton Howard’s incredible score often recall the best of Alfred Hitchcock.
Signs has moments of genuine dread and enough terrifying scares to satisfy horror fans. However, Shyamalan’s focus extends beyond jump scares, crafting an emotional family drama that carries more weight than expected.
1. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Sixth Sense stands as Shyamalan’s best film, unequivocally surpassing his other works. Unlike his other movies, which showcase a mix of strengths and weaknesses, The Sixth Sense perfectly executes his bold style. The drama, scares, and twist come together flawlessly—there’s nothing to criticize.
With a tight script, stellar performances from Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette, expert direction, and a powerful score by James Newton Howard, this ghost story is a masterclass in filmmaking that only gets better with each viewing.
