10 Good Movies That Completely Botched Their Final Act

2. The Village

Remember when M. Night Shyamalan used to be one of the most exciting prospects in Hollywood? Remember how he was ear-marked to be the man who could turn alternative narratives and plot twists into successful money-makers? Remember how good The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable both were? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Unfortunately, though, it's easy to forget, with a string of bombs including The Last Airbender and After Earth (both of which make The Village look like Oscar winning stuff). It's as if The Village exists only as Shyamalan's last respectable crack at a good film. Boasting a quality soundtrack and some real nail-biting scenes, The Village was a visual treat with its uses of the colours red and yellow, and though it wasn't truly anything special, it was at least an entertaining watch all the way up to the ending that felt like a slap in the face. You can imagine Shyamalan sat at his desk, writing away, thinking himself to be a genius. "What a twist!" he must have thought, to reveal that the monsters were just weirdos dressed up in costumes who inhabit a village that has somehow managed to fool all of its residents into believing that there is no civilisation beyond the woods (never mind the planes). In all fairness, if many of us came up with that twist we would believe ourselves to be clever, but the harsh reality is that it doesn't translate well to the screen, and when you've invested over an hour and a half of your time, your hard-earned money and embraced the suspension of disbelief needed to trick yourself into believing monsters for an evening of your life, it just feels insulting.