Every M. Night Shyamalan Plot Twist Ranked From Worst To Best

Plot: An apartment landlord (Paul Giamatti) tries to help a water nymph named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) - yes, that's actually her name - return to her world.

Poorly scripted, overly slow and generally just really, really silly, Lady in the Water is one of Shyamalan's worst. Still, the big twist is better than those from Signs or The Village.

In the film, protagonist Cleveland, taking note from the folktales about nymphs like Story, realizes that a group of people need to fulfil different roles (such as the Guardian, the Guild etc.) in order to save her.

He consults an arrogant film critic (Bob Balaban) who helps Cleveland prescribe the roles, but these all turn out to be incorrect and Story is nearly killed. The characters figure the right roles out subsequently.

It's a mixed bag of a twist. It's refreshingly simple and plays into the film's theme of finding your own place in the world, but it's also pretty boring.

Additionally, Lady in the Water makes for a nauseating middle finger to critics of Shyamalan's work, with the critic cast as a villain who nearly gets Story killed and Shyamalan also cast himself as a writer whose work will save the world (yes, really). This whole twist plays a huge part in that, so it's hard to feel too much warmth towards it.