M. Night Shyamalan, once hailed by some misguided so-and-so as "the new Steven Spielberg," is now considered to be one of the worst directors in all of Hollywood. Because after a while, the director's reliance on "unexpected twists" started to feel kind of hokey and unconvincing. Also, let's face it: the twist thing, despite being an aspect that features in almost all of his films, was only ever really successfully employed in The Sixth Sense, his debut picture. Since then, it's been downhill for ol' Shyamalan, and the director has struggled to carve out a meaningful career in the wake of his sad, slow decline. But wait! It's 2015, and M. Night Shyamalan has done the impossible: he's made a pretty good movie in horror/comedy The Visit - his first "Certified Fresh" film since Signs. The premise is simple, effective and - best of all - self-aware, as Shyamalan tackles the found footage genre in a motion picture that is both weird and genuinely funny. And this playful side looks good on him - even the final twist (God forbid!) actually packs a punch. It's no use pretending that Shyamalan has made a masterpiece, of course, and it probably doesn't make up for all those years of sh*tty movies, but The Visit is - at least - a step in the right direction. It's proof that he's growing' and moving into a new career phase, one which will hopefully mark the beginning of more self-aware pictures free from arbitrary twists. Like this list? Agree or disagree? Feel like we missed somebody else off who should have been included? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments section below.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
