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The early aughts launched a wave of horror remakes, but they’re especially known as an era full of American remakes of Japanese horror classics. One such adaptation is Takashi Shimizu‘s 2004 film, The Grudge, based on the Japanese film Ju-On: The Grudge, which Shimizu directed in 2002. It’s not often the original director is brought on for the American adaptation, so this is a fascinating film even for just that reason.

In the film, “An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.“

The Grudge stars horror icon Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as Jason Behr (Roswell) and Clea DuVall (The Faculty). It was a massive hit upon release, raking in a reported $187.3 million on a $10 million budget. It was released when I was a kid,...

Everyone has a favorite movie star. Whether you grew up cheering on Harrison Ford as he kicked the crap out of legions of Stormtroopers or laughed when Tom Hanks danced on a massive piano, at some point or another, an actor from Tinseltown captured your attention and forced you into a theater to witness their latest big-screen escapade. Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger all took the world by storm in their heyday and used their incredible good looks and rock star charisma to entertain the masses, often pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars simply by having their name at the top of a poster.

Still, being a Hollywood icon occasionally has its drawbacks. Often, an actor will leap into the spotlight by playing a specific character and then get stuck playing that character for the rest of their career. Here are 15 examples of such an occurrence -- and no,...

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M. Night Shyamalan doesn't always make great movies, but let it never be said that he makes boring movies. From the stone-cold classic that is "The Sixth Sense" to the wackadoo nature of "The Happening," the man certainly knows how to keep things interesting. Of all Shyamalan's output in recent years, "Old" stands out as perhaps his biggest swing. It's also, at least in part, inspired by the works of Agatha Christie.

While Christie and Shyamalan don't seem like a natural pairing, the director was inspired by her while making "Old." For those who may need a refresher, the film centers on a family taking a tropical holiday. They discover a secluded beach where they decide to relax in peace for a few hours. However, they soon discover the beach is making them age rapidly, distilling their entire lives into a single day.

To call M. Night Shyamalan's filmography a "mixed bag" is an understatement — for every "The Sixth Sense," you get "The Happening" — but I'm beyond pleased to say that the Philadelphia-loving writer, director, and producer really knocked it out of the park with his 2024 film "Trap." Apparently, people on Netflix are noticing, because according to FlixPatrol, it's crushing it on the streamer.

If you're unfamiliar with "Trap," first of all, I'm so sorry. Second of all, you should go and watch "Trap," because it rules ... and again, it's easy to do if you have a Netflix subscription. As Shyamalan himself described it, "Trap" is what you would get if you mixed Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning crime drama "Silence of the Lambs" with Taylor Swift's billion-dollar grossing, culture-commanding Eras Tour, and the result is incredible; as if that wasn't a good enough elevator pitch, the movie is also based on a real sting operation,...

Have you noticed that whenever a new movie pops up on Netflix with no advance notice, it tends to be - um, how do I say this - less than successful? The latest addition to their slate is another example of this practice.

We try to be diligent when we write about the coming attractions on your favorite streaming service. Inevitably, Netflix will throw a pretty big title into the lineup with little to no fanfare. Even Netflix's own announcement page leaves a lot of films out in the cold until they suddenly appear.

It's as if they haven't worked out the rights to the movies and shows months in advance but find them left on their corporate doorstep like sad little orphans. Like Venom: the Last Dance popping up out of nowhere.

A case in point is a thriller that debuted in theaters to pretty good numbers, $22 million in its first week.

Trap, the controversial 2024 thrillerstarring Josh Hartnett, has just arrived on a new streaming platform. The film was surprisingly added to Netflix's catalog, and subscribers can already stream one of the most divisive thrillers of last year and M. Night Shyamalan's latest attempt to show he's still got it.

Not only did Trap arrive without much fanfare on Netflix, but it has also climbed the charts of the streamer. At the time of writing, Trap sits on the second spot in Netflix's top 10 list of most popular films. Other titles currently on the list include two Friday films, Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, Despicable Me 4, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Written and directed by Shyamalan, the film follows Cooper (Hartnett), a father who has decided to join his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), at a concert featuring her favorite artist, Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). As he arrives at the venue,...

There is only one canonized sequel to E.T.: Universal Studios' E.T. Adventure. Based on the sequel to the novelization, E.T.: The Book Of The Green Planet by William Kotzwinkle, Adventure is a dark ride that doesn't just allow E.T. to phone home. It takes him...

The plot twist is a necessity for a movie to become more exciting than it already is. Across decades in cinema, audiences have been gifted with legendary reveals, like Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker's father in The Empire Strikes Back and Malcolm's true form in The Sixth Sense. There are also times when plot twists ruin their narratives by how nonsensical they are, such as certain reveals in The Rise of Skywalker and the death-causing plants in The Happening.

There are also instances where mediocre movies are ultimately elevated by a single ingenious reveal. For the majority of the runtime, these films follow a traditional path that other stories in their genre have done before. However, through a well-written third-act reveal, these once-average movies, including Malignant, The Book of Eli, and Click, are saved from being sent into obscurity.

The Escape Pods Are Switched Life (2017)

Image by Columbia Pictures...

While M. Night Shyamalanhas a complicated movie track record, his claim-to-fame 1999 film The Sixth Sense is still regarded as a seminal horror work today. As a result, Shyamalan's movie made the director synonymous with the twist ending. This trademark has gained him notoriety and criticism, with some audiences thinking that he over-relies on the twist. Shyamalan may have some good movies, but he has also produced a litany of critically panned projects, including The Last Airbender, After Earth, and The Happening.

In 2024, Shyamalan's two daughters joined the movie industry in two separate movies. In one of them, Suleka Shyamalan acted in her father's psychological thriller film Trap. Suleka played Lady Raven, the Taylor Swift-esque popstar at the heart of the movie. In addition, Shyamalan's other daughter made her directorial debut with a horror film this year. This movie was not well-received by critics at the time but is now...

French film companies and long-time collaborators Goodfellas and Rectangle Productions have finalized a merger, which has been in the works since the summer.

The partners said in a statement on Friday that the deal marked “an important milestone” for both parties and “had been carried out in the interests of all stakeholders.”

The merger follows news over the summer, first reported by French trade paper Le Film Français, that Rectangle Productions was in financial difficulty and had filed for judicial reorganisation to keep its activities ticking over while it restructured.

Co-founded in 2003 by Édouard Weil, who was joined in 2012 by Alice Girard, Rectangle Productions has produced 60 films and TV series, including Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion winner The Happening and her follow-up film Emmanuelle.

The weak performance of the latter film at the French box office has reportedly not helped the company’s financial situation.

Under the deal, Rectangle Productions will retain its brand,...

Every now and then, a movie is so spectacularly, brilliantly, and gloriously bad that our brains catalog it in the “good” category anyway.

It’s hard to define what makes a movie good or bad since it’s all subjective, but for me, a bad movie becomes good when it’s still enjoyable despite being a terrible film.

While there’s plenty of room for debate on what movies are considered bad in the first place, I’ve come up with a handful that I think we can all agree aren’t exactly masterpieces.

(Universal Pictures/Screenshot)

In looking back over some of the worst movies I’ve seen, I asked myself one question to determine if it was so bad, it’s actually good.

Would I watch it again?

When the answer was yes, as it was for all of the following, I figured that was enough to give...

"The Happening" isn't regarded as one of Mark Wahlberg's best movies, and the "Transformers: Age of Extinction" star would be the first to agree with this sentiment. Director M. Night Shyamalan's critically panned 2008 sci-fi thriller has Wahlberg playing a science teacher who finds himself caught up in a nature-induced apocalypse that causes trees, plants, and wind to rage against humanity. At the time, it was a change of pace from the macho roles Wahlberg was accustomed to, but it seems that he regrets lending his talents to the maligned flick.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2010, Wahlberg recalled how Amy Adams, his co-star in "The Fighter," was once lined up to play Zooey Deschanel's character (who's married to Wahlberg's character) in "The Happening." Unfortunately, she didn't get the gig, but Wahlberg believed it was for the best. "She dodged the bullet," he said before going on to diss the movie.

M. Night Shyamalan's 2024 movie continues its streaming success. The first feature-length movies Shyamalan directed were Praying with Anger and Wide Awake, but it was The Sixth Sense's release in 1999 that gained him widespread recognition. The Sixth Sense received six Academy Award nominations and gave Shyamalan a reputation for directing and writing unpredictable stories that culminate in shocking, game-changing plot twists that recontextualize the entire movie.

Only a year after The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan continued to build this reputation with his unique take on superheroes and supervillains in Unbreakable, which led to the secret and well-received sequel, Split, in 2016. Shyamalan concluded the Unbreakable trilogy with Glass in 2019. While The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Split, and his 2002 movie Signs are well-regarded, many of M. Night Shyamalan's movies have been panned, including The Last Airbender, After Earth, and The Happening.

Trap Is An Ongoing Streaming Hit It Continues To Perform Well Against...

The science fiction film Infinite, starring Mark Wahlberg, is trending on Prime Video three years after releasing on Paramount+. Reviews for Infinite were not kind when it released on Paramount's streaming service in 2021. Infinite, which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson and Jason Mantzoukas, holds a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows Evan McCauley, who is haunted by memories of places he's never visited, until he discovers a secret society of "Infinites." Evan teams up with the group to hone his skills and stop a madman in the Antoine Fuqua-directed science fiction movie.

While Infinite did not receive strong reviews upon its release, finding a second life as a trending movie on Prime Video is a silver-lining for the film. However, this doesn't change the fact that Mark Wahlberg has terrible luck when it comes to science fiction movies. While Wahlberg has always had major successes in the action genre,...

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The worst thing that ever happened to M. Night Shyamalan's was the August 5, 2002 cover of Newsweek magazine. The filmmaker was red hot coming off the surprise box office success of "The Sixth Sense" and a solid double of a hit in "Unbreakable," and about to pack theaters once again with his blockbuster sci-fi/horror opus "Signs." He was the toast of Hollywood, seemingly on the cusp of becoming a smash-crafting industry unto himself. It was a lot for one guy to deal with before the then prominent publication got completely carried away and declared the then 32-year-old director "The Next Steven Spielberg." Afterwards? It dogged him like a curse.

Shyamalan didn't handle this particularly well. Leaving aside how you feel about M. Night's movies, he followed up the mild disappointment of "The Village" with the strangely hostile "Lady in the Water,...

M. Night Shyamalan's divisive $82 million hit Trap is now streaming on Max, and the 2024 film really deserves more love. Like many of Shyamalan's more recent films, Trap has divided audiences, with one sect of his fanbase claiming that it is just another one of the director's lesser films while the other sect claims that it is his best in years. The conversation around Trap has been the most interesting part of the film's release, and now that Shyamalan's new thriller has made it onto Max, an all-new group of viewers can join the discussion.

Director M. Night Shyamalan started his career as one of Hollywood's brightest upcoming filmmakers, with early films like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable cementing him as one of the greats. However, later films like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth made many audience members sour on his films, greatly harming his reputation. 2016's...

Dylan OBrien stars in the new thriller Caddo Lake, and it has a direct connection to writer and director M. Night Shyamalan. Written and directed by Celine Held and Logan George, Caddo Lake was released on Max on October 10, 2024, and quickly climbed into its top 10 most-watched movies. At the time of writing, Caddo Lake has an 81% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 82% audience score, both fresh ratings. So far, Caddo Lake has been praised for the performances of its main actors and its creative story, even if it gets tangled towards the end.

Caddo Lake takes the audience to Texas, to the area of the title lake, to follow a young man named Paris (OBrien) and a teenager named Ellie (Eliza Scanlen). When Ellies eight-year-old step-sister Anna mysteriously disappears, Ellie separates from the search team to look for Anna on her own in a strange part of the lake.

If there was one thing the Covid-19 virus guaranteed, it was the fact that virus-based horror movies would acquire a whole new level of terror. There was a moment when households all over the world were revisiting the 2011 virus-thriller Contagion because of its terrifying parallels with the very real pandemic people were in the middle of. Virus-based horror movies scare the heck out of audiences because of how possible some of those events could be.

Usually, when audiences think of virus-based horror films, they refer to zombie films like the dark horror comedy Shaun of the Dead or World War Z. However, there are plenty of great virus-based horror movies that don't include zombies, like The Crazies or the previously mentioned Contagion. Each one of these horror movies has the same thing in common. They revolve around the very scary reality of what would happen if a deadly virus took hold of the mass population.

The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan's "nature is bad" horror film from 2008 has found a new home on Hulu. The film, which was added to the streamer's library just in time for the spooky season, is climbing up the charts of the streaming service, and it shows no signs of stopping.

The Happening has been climbing up the Hulu chart and peaked at No.3 before slipping a little to No.8. While these positions fluctuate a lot, Shyamalan has found love on the streamer from viewers who must have forgotten the film's initial reception and are up for a revisit.

The Happening centers around a high school science teacher named Elliot Moore who, alongside his wife Alma and a colleague who manages to grab his daughter, decides to go on the run after something truly bizarre begins happening to the population: for no apparent reason, they decide to commit mass suicide.

While it may be one of both the filmmaker and star's worst-reviewed movies in their careers, The Happening is starting to get a second chance at success on streaming. M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 movie starred Mark Wahlberg as high school science teacher Elliot Moore as he and his wife, Alma, race around the Northeastern United States region in the hopes of escaping the mysterious mass suicides affecting the area. Also starring Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo, The Happening was widely panned upon its release, holding just an 18% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but was a modest box office success.

Just a couple of weeks after finding a new streaming home on the platform, Shyamalan's The Happening is climbing Hulu's charts. At the time of writing, the 2008 horror movie sits in the No. 3 spot on the streamer's Top 15 Movies Today. The movie is currently sitting behind two new Hulu Originals,...

Fans of M. Night Shyamalans 2002 film, Signs, can Swing away like Joaquin Phoenixs character, Merrill on Oct. 1. The classic alien film is set to hit the streamer on that date, right in time for the Halloween season. Cbr ranked Signs No. 3 on a list of Shyamalans 10 best films.

Sometimes, an alien invasion story can be difficult to pull off and still be taken seriously. However, Signs takes the story to new levels of science fiction, faith and the nature of the universe. The movie stars Mel Gibson as Graham Hess a widowed former reverend, who has his world rocked when he finds crop circles on his Pennsylvania farm.

Related M. Night Shyamalan's Trap Gets A Streaming Release Date

Trap will be available to stream on Max in time for the spooky season.

He and his children Morgan and Bo, played by Rory Culkin (Black Mirror) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine...

The Sixth Sense is heading to Hulu. With Halloween right around the corner, subscribers will be able to add the well-received Bruce Willis-led movie to their watchlist at the start of next month.

Beginning Oct. 1, The Sixth Sense can be streamed on Hulu. Released back in 1999, the Academy Award-nominated movie stars Willis as a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe, who encounters a troubled, psychic boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment). Malcolm learns that Cole is tormented by visions of the dead, and while he's skeptical at first, Malcolm soon guides Cole to start helping the ghosts pass on instead of fearing them. The Sixth Sense is notable for having one of the most iconic twist endings, with Malcolm learning that he has been a ghost ever since he was killed in the opening scene.

Related 'He Is in a Stable Place': Demi Moore Shares Positive Bruce Willis Health...

Samara Weaving is an established scream queen after her appearance in several films in the genre. However, Ready or Not certified her status and brought her critical acclaim.

Ready or Not hit theaters on Aug. 21, 2019, and received critical acclaim, as well as becoming a commercial success. It boasts a Certified Fresh 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed $56.7 million against a $6 million budget, becoming a real box office hit. The horror, which was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, is now moving to a different streaming home. Ready or Not will officially release on Hulu on Oct. 1, 2024, alongside other popular titles including M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, Birdman, and Barbarian.

Related M. Night Shyamalan's Most Polarizing Film Hits Hulu Next Month

A polarizing M. Night Shyamalan film is coming to Hulu in October.

Ready Or Not comes from director duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, with Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy penning the script.

M. Night Shyamalan's most polarizing movie is coming to Hulu in October. Starring Mark Wahlberg, The Happening arrived fourteen years ago to negative reviews from critics but was a modest commercial success, almost tripling its estimated budget.

The Happening will arrive on Hulu on October 1, 2024. Shyamalan wrote, directed, and produced the sci-fi thriller released by 20th Century Fox on June 13, 2008. The film revolves around an inexplicable natural disaster causing mass suicides. Wahlberg portrayed a high school science teacher, Elliot Moore, who, alongside other survivors, including his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), tries to escape the disaster. The cast also includes John Leguizamo as Julian, Sanchez as Julian's daughter Jess, Betty Buckley as Mrs. Jones Ashlyn, and Jeremy Strong as Private Auster. Shyamalan also plays the character Joey in a voiceover-only role.

Related 10-Year-Old Film With Michael Keaton's Oscar-Nominated Role Lands at Hulu

Beginning in October, Hulu subscribers will be...

Mark Wahlbergs controversial 2008 survival movie, The Happening, is officially coming to streaming. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the movie followed a world in which mysterious and self-inflicted deaths plagued the world. Mark Wahlberg stars as Elliot Moore, a teacher desperately trying to survive and to uncover the truth behind the horror. The movie succeeded at the box office, where it earned $163 million on a $60 million budget. Despite achieving a profit, however, The Happening received horrible reviews and contributed to Shyamalans ongoing fall from grace.

According to a report by Collider, the much-maligned movie will officially be coming to Hulu on October 1. After the success of Shyamalan's Trap (2024), the streaming platform hopes to draw some of the newfound respect for Shyamalan's work by returning to one of his least respected movies. It was previously only available to purchase or rent, so this will be a triumphant move for The Happening.

Mark...

Before making a significant return to mainstream with 2016s Split, acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan was stuck in a rut. After delivering hits and modern classics like Signs and The Sixth Sense, the director helmed a slate of movies that were neither well-received by critics nor box office hits. One of them was The Happening, a thriller starring Mark Wahlberg (The Union) and Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) that was written by Shyamalan himself.

It’s a surprise to find out that director Audrey Diwan had never seen the original Emmanuelle — a gauzy soft-porn feature that got la toute France hot and bothered when it was allowed to be shown in normal cinemas in 1974 — before she was approached to do this remake, which opens the San Sebastian Film Festival in Competition. In its day, Emmanuelle spawned a string of sequels, each reputedly worse than its predecessors, while star Sylvia Kristel became so immediately famous for taking off her clothes that the expectation blighted her entire career. It also made a huge amount of money.

But what’s most surprising about the fact that Diwan — who made The Happening, which won the Golden Lion in Venice three years ago — had not seen Just Jaeckin’s then-so-scandalous film is that this one seems to be constructed as an answer to it. Both are based on Emmanuelle Arsan’s pseudonymous 1967 novel,...

Even if you’re not a Halloween person, October means spooky season. It feels like every brand, store, — and yes, every streamer, finds ways to incorporate themes of haunting and horror. Disney+ started early, with the September premiere of “Agatha All Along,” which will air new episodes for the next several weeks. In October, the streamer will debut “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” an expansion of the popular Disney Channel series “Wizards of Waverly Place” which aired from 2007 to 2012.

And of course Hulu has “Huluween,” a celebration of the scariest titles either premiering on the streamer for the first time or simply highlighted from its existing library. That includes films like “Late Night with the Devil,” the series “Reginald the Vampire,” FX’s “American Horror Stories”, a Halloween specials from “Family Guy” and “Solar Opposites,” a docuseries on witch hunting, and much more.

Top Pick: “What We Do in the Shadows...

This spooky season, Disney+ and Hulu are conjuring up an exciting blend of scares for every Halloween enthusiast as the comprehensive streaming homes of Halloween with a thrilling variety of spine-tingling premieres, nostalgic classics, and heart-pounding horror for every family member and fan.

Agatha All Along Huluween On Hulu

Huluween returns this October with a fresh selection of frightening content that guarantees to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Whether preparing for a horror-filled binge or seeking thrills for a Halloween watch party, Hulu has assembled a month of chilling entertainment.

Hulu’s standout offerings include the debut of FX’s Grotesquerie, a sinister crime series that blurs the line between horror and psychological thriller, brand new Halloween specials from fan-favorite animated series Solar Opposites and Family Guy, as well as five all-new scary tales from FX’s American Horror Stories, the final season of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows...

Poster for Hulu’s Huluween 2024

Hulu’s set its annual Huluween lineup, which will include Ryan Murphy’s latest FX series Grotesquerie starring Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Travis Kelce. The Halloween celebration features a new season of American Horror Stories and Halloween specials from Solar Opposites and Family Guy.

The final season of What We Do in the Shadows and Reginald the Vampire season two join Hulu’s lineup, along with Hold Your Breath starring Sarah Paulson. Plus, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Happening, and Unbreakable bring the chills during this year’s Huluween event.

Huluween 2024 on Hulu

FX’s Grotesquerie – September 26, streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for Bundle subscribers

In FX’s Grotesquerie, a series of heinous crimes have unsettled a small community. Detective Lois Tryon feels these crimes are eerily personal, as if someone—or something—is taunting her.

Back in early 2023, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan told Collider, “I have three movie ideas. I even have the structure of all three to some extent. And so it’s a very weird and interesting situation I’m feeling. I wish I could tell them faster. I wish I could get there faster, but there is no shortcut. I have to spend the six to nine months to write it. I have to storyboard for three months, and then we have pre-production, and then shooting it, and edit for as long as I can get every single second.“ Soon after, it was announced that he had secured a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. – and he immediately went to work on his recent thriller Trap. Now that Trap has made its way out into the world, it’s time for Shyamalan to start putting the second of those three movie ideas he said he had,...

James McAvoy recalls replacing Joaquin Phoenix after he dropped out of Split. McAvoy played Kevin Wendell Crumb, an individual with 23 distinct personalities, including the Beast, in the 2016 film directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Split's ending and final plot twist revealed that the film was a secret sequel to Shyamalan's 2000 film Unbreakable, with Split setting up a third and final installment, Glass, that tied the two stories together and concluded the trilogy.

While speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy explained how he joined Split when Phoenix left the film two weeks before filming began.

McAvoy acknowledged the challenges he faced by joining Split so soon before production commenced, while admitting that coming on board at the last minute also had its advantages. He also describes how he began navigating playing his character's 23 different personalities. Check out McAvoy's comments below:

He's an amazing actor. I think...

After making thin air terrifying again with 2020’s atmospheric and chilling horror film The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell is taking another bite out of the Universal Monsters rogue’s gallery with Wolf Man. Before everyone logs off for the weekend, Whannell and Blumhouse hit horror fans with a Wolf Man teaser trailer, previewing the filmmaker’s latest bone-chilling horror film.

Today’s Wolf Man teaser trailer begins with footage of a praying mantis stalking an unsuspecting lunch, striking with lightning-fast speed as the meal feels fangs piercing its exterior. As the words Wolf Man steadily slash onto the screen, the footage shows a remote house in Oregon where a mysterious animal waits in the woods. While trying to adjust to their new lives, Christopher Abbott is attacked by what he says is a ferocious wolf-like creature standing on two legs. As the lycanthropy surges through his system, he changes, leaving...

Horror icons from George A. Romero to Sam Raimi have all explored various aspects of film, whether it be subgenres in horror or totally different genres. But one iconic modern creator, M. Night Shyamalan, may be most notorious for rarely venturing out of his comfort zone. Shyamalan is one of the few horror directors out there who masterfully crafts a unique idea and blends thriller and horror into one cohesive tale that sticks with the audience. While many of his movies fall short, that doesn't mean that the ideas weren't sound and the highlight to begin with.

More than any of his movies, The Sixth Sense may be the director's most impressive outing, and though he followed the film up with the equally interesting take on superhero movies, Unbreakable, Shyamalan also tackled a beloved 2000s family film that is fondly remembered for its main character, Stuart Little. But rather than be behind the camera,...

Despite featuring a star-studded duo in Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg, The Union continues to divide critics and audiences. The new Netflix spy film's negative reaction unfortunately prompted a new low mark for Wahlberg's career.

Via Rotten Tomatoes, The Union boasts rotten critic and audience scores less than a week after its Netflix debut. The film currently has a 36% critical rating and 26% audience score on the popular review aggregator platform, making it one of the worst-rated movies on Berry and Wahlberg's extensive CVs. For Wahlberg, The Union's audience score is the second-lowest ever for a movie featuring the veteran actor, with 2008's The Happening (24%) being the lowest of the bunch. The critics' score also ranks among the bottom 10 all-time for Wahlberg movies.

Related Anya Taylor-Joy Returns to Netflix With Murderous Lead Role in New Series

Anya Taylor-Joy is heading back to the small screen as a creatively homicidal character in a new Netflix series.

The Union's audience score sets a new record for Mark Wahlberg, as it is now his second-lowest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics and viewers alike criticize The Union for lack of action, unbelievable plot, and character development. Despite bad reviews, The Union peaked at no. 1 on Netflix's charts, garnering 33.1 million views globally.

The Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the Netflix movie The Union has set a new record for actor Mark Wahlberg. In The Union, Wahlberg plays Mike, a working-class man whose surprise run-in with his ex-girlfriend Roxanne leads to him being wrapped up in an unexpected international spy mission. In addition to Berry and Wahlberg, The Union features a leading cast including J.K. Simmons, Mike Colter, Alice Lee, Jessica De Gouw, Lucy Cork, and Jackie Earle-Haley. The film is directed by Julian Farino and written by David Guggenheim and Joe Barton.

The updated Rotten Tomatoes audience...

As one of the foremost defenders of oft-maligned films like "Grease 2" or M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening," I've gotten pretty comfortable living on Subjective Film Opinion Island, even if sometimes I'm living alone. While "Alien" and "Aliens" are rightfully considered classics by, well, everyone, the general consensus on the rest of the franchise isn't as predictable. Films like "Alien 3" and even "Alien: Resurrection" have had their reassessments over the years, and "Alien: Covenant" has rightfully taken the crown as the franchise's most misunderstood and underrated.

However, Ridley Scott's first film of his prequel duology, "Prometheus," arguably remains the series' most controversial. When it debuted in 2012, critic Germain Lussier wrote for /Film that the film "ends up feeling like a hundred people tried to shove their own ideas into a single movie." Five years later, Matt Monagle wrote an impassioned defense of the film, declaring it "one...

Quick Links Dee and Dennis Get Cast in an M. Night Shyamalan Movie in "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie" In "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie," the Duo Spoof M. Night Shyamalan's Films Is M. Night Shyamalan in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? In "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie," Dee and Dennis get cast in a fake M. Night Shyamalan movie. Mac and Charlie write a spoof of Shyamalan films to present to the director in the same episode. Although Shyamalan has no role in the Always Sunny episode, he is open to a future cameo.

M. Night Shyamalan is an iconic director, popular enough to be referenced in plenty of movies and TV shows, from The Office to Family Guy to even Kendrick Lamar's recent song "Euphoria." It's not so common for most movie-goers to know much about directors; while an average audience member may choose...

Unbreakable blends Shyamalan's unique style with a superhero origin story. The film deconstructs traditional superhero tropes and ends on a somber, unexpected note. Despite Shyamalan's divisive reputation, Unbreakable remains a masterpiece in the superhero genre.

Few filmmakers are as polarizing as M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense opened to rapturous reviews, earning him a legion of dedicated fans. Critics admired his atmospheric direction and patient approach to storytelling, blending somber themes with traditional horror thrills. However, Shyamalan has spent his career trying to recapture lighting in a bottle. His uncompromising style made him a controversial cinematic figure, with films like Signs and The Village proving divisive, especially amongst audiences. Many began to doubt Shyamylan's talent, especially after The Happening and The Last Airbender further sullied his good name. Despite his infamous reputation, the auteur is no one-hit wonder. Shyamalan's best picture is a deeply unconventional take on one of Hollywood's most popular genres.

M. Night Shyamalan's Trap depict cops hunting down a serial killer at a concert, but The Watchers offers more tension, suspense, and a soulful story. The Watchers is directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, and follows Mina escaping malevolent faeries in Ireland, touching on themes of unity and sisterhood. The film stands out for its deep themes of colonization, oppression, and family, offering a more nuanced villain than a typical serial killer.

The following contains spoilers for The Watchers and Trap, now playing in theaters. It contains a mention of suicide.

When it comes to modern horror, it's hard to deny M. Night Shyamalan movies are some of the most popular around. He had hits like The Sixth Sense, misses like The Happening, and middle-ground movies such as The Visit. No matter what, however, viewers are always intrigued by his movies.

A lot hinges on the iconic Shyamalan twist ending.

For the past 20 years or so, people have been publicly berating M. Night Shyamalan for his infamous streak of dud films. After earning widespread acclaim with hits such as The Sixth Sense Unbreakable, and Signs, things started to get shaky when he released the divisive horror film, The Village. Then, in the mid-2000s, the collective trainwrecks that were films like Lady in the Water, The Happening, and The Last Airbender made Shyamalan's reputation take a significant hit, and it seemingly made him into a laughingstock. But he was able to make a comeback, as his recent output has shown him trying to experiment with his storytelling in different directions, to varying degrees of success. The latest in this string is Trap, starring Josh Hartnett, which may not be a critical darling but it's definitely not the most reviled film in the director's filmography. This current era of Shyamalan's creations...

In 2005, an episode of Adult Swim animated series “Robot Chicken” featured a segment parodying the films of M. Night Shyamalan, who had then just released critical failure “The Village” the previous year. Titled “The Twist,” the sketch depicts Shyamalan as a screeching jokester with a heavy Indian accent who reacts to everything that happens to him and his family by turning to the camera and exclaiming “What a twist!”

For many people, that sketch sums up Shyamalan’s public persona: He’s a man who loves his twist endings. Born in India and raised in Philadelphia, Shyamalan directed a handful of films before 1999’s “The Sixth Sense,” but it was that cultural phenomenon — and the now legendary twist ending that closes it — that introduced him into the popular consciousness. A macabre drama starring Bruce Willis as a child psychologist working with a young boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) who can communicate with the dead,...

The life story behind writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is unlike that of any other major filmmaker working today. Born in India but brought to the United States when he was only six weeks old, Shyamalan wanted to become a filmmaker ever since he got his first Super 8 camera as a child. He had released two little-seen features when in 1999, he made “The Sixth Sense,” a psychological thriller that was successful beyond his wildest dreams, earning over $672 million and bringing him critical acclaim, including nominations from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, Writers Guild, Directors Guild, as well as two Academy Award nominations.

Shyamalan’s box office roll continued with his next two films, 2000’s “Unbreakable” and “Signs” in 2002. But with 2004’s “The Village,” critics began to turn on the filmmaker, citing their disappointment with his plot twist in that movie, a discontent that continued through 2006’s “Lady in the Water” and 2008’s “The Happening.

The life story behind writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is unlike that of any other major filmmaker working today. Born in India but brought to the United States when he was only six weeks old, Shyamalan wanted to become a filmmaker ever since he got his first Super 8 camera as a child. He had released two little-seen features when in 1999, he made “The Sixth Sense,” a psychological thriller that was successful beyond his wildest dreams, earning over $672 million and bringing him critical acclaim, including nominations from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, Writers Guild, Directors Guild, as well as two Academy Award nominations.

Shyamalan’s box office roll continued with his next two films, 2000’s “Unbreakable” and “Signs” in 2002. But with 2004’s “The Village,” critics began to turn on the filmmaker, citing their disappointment with his plot twist in that movie, a discontent that continued through 2006’s “Lady in the Water” and 2008’s “The Happening.

Quick Links What Are M. Night Shyamalan's Cameos About? M. Night Shyamalan Plays Lady Raven's Uncle in Trap How M. Night Shyamalan's Uncle Influences Trap's Ending

The following contains major spoilers for Trap, now playing in theaters. This article also contains brief mention of suicide.

When it comes to thought-provoking horror, M. Night Shyamalan's movies are right up there. Even when they're not executed in the best manner, they still build a lot of conversation. It's seen with jaw-dropping efforts like The Sixth Sense, or flicks that leave fans wondering why they invested time and money, per The Happening.

That said, people are always curious and excited to see what Shyamalan's twists will be. Some are laughable, while others really create an enjoyable narrative. In addition to his curveballs, Shyamalan makes cameo appearances in his movies, giving viewers something else to look forward to. And, on schedule, he does...

M. Night Shyamalan's polarizing 2004 movie, The Village, is set to receive its first 4K release. Despite being a box office hit, the film was met with mixed reactions upon its initial debut.

In a recent interview with Slash Film, Shyamalan discussed the movie's gradual reappraisal. "A lot of people keep coming up to me on the street," Shyamalan said, acknowledging the film's slow climb in appreciation. He confirmed that he is working on a proper Blu-ray release and is particularly focused on the 4K version. When asked about the progress of these projects during a discussion about his new film, Trap, Shyamalan responded, "I'm on it. Yeah, no, that's my next thing [...] That's interesting that you asked yeah, I'm literally on it right now to get a 4K release."

Related M. Night Shyamalan Recalls Biggest Make or Break Moment in His Career

The filmmaker says an actor's reaction to...

This article contains light spoilers for Trap.

It’s no spoiler to say that M. Night Shyamalan makes a cameo appearance in his latest movie Trap. After all, Shyamalan shows up in all of his movies, a tribute to his hero Alfred Hitchcock. But as much as he wants to follow in the footsteps of the master of suspense, Shyamalan has the heart of an ’80s schlockmeister.

For evidence, look no further than Trap. Yes, the film has a Hitchcock-worthy premise, in which suburban dad Cooper (Josh Hartnett) finds the pop concert he’s attending with his pre-teen daughter interrupted by police hunting a serial killer called the Butcher. The problem? Cooper is the Butcher, which audiences learn when he checks in on one of his victims via remote camera.

Trap has its tense moments, but its real fun comes from trashier bits, elements that feel straight out of...

Film directors acting in the films they make is neither rare nor new. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were doing it during the silent era, and as more artists like Orson Wells, Ida Lupino, John Cassavetes, and now Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper got into the act (literally), it's hardly surprising for audiences to see a movie written by, directed by, and starring the same person.

However, there also exists the parallel concept of the director's cameo, which is distinguished from the acting directors because the concept of a cameo itself is an elastic idea — ranging from a brief, non-verbal appearance to an entire supporting role. Unlike a filmmaker playing the lead or a co-lead in their own feature, a director making a cameo appearance in their own film tends to have a meta aspect to it: they know you know who they are, so their appearance in and of...

Few directors inspire more ire than M. Night Shyamalan. Famed for his twists and turns, Shyamalan’s meteoric rise can only be matched by his shocking fall. There was a moment when he was framed as the next Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately, a string of poor movies left many unwilling to engage with his future hits. Whether he’s inconsistent or very particular, Shyamalan has survived in Hollywood, with Trap becoming movie number 16 in his storied career. We’re ranking his movies with Trap‘s release, and helping put your expectations in check.

16. The Last Airbender (2010)

One of the most frustrating blockbusters of the last thirty years, Shyamalan proved the wrong choice from the jump. He tried to put his stamp on the series, and failed in pretty much every way. Poor visuals and poor acting (aside from Asiv Mandvi & Dev Patel) killed any chance of a franchise. Beyond that, the...

As a filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan has been a household name for 25 years, starting in 1999, when he ruled the end of the summer with “The Sixth Sense.” You can basically divide the Shyamalan oeuvre into four periods. There was the era when he was an A-list visionary who some compared to Spielberg. There was the era when he began to lapse into self-parody, and when the whole notion of the Shyamalan twist ending became less an entertainer’s trademark than a sign of the rut he was in.

There was the period when he left all that behind to reinvent himself as an anonymous sci-fi craftsman. And then there was the comeback era that began with “Split” (2016), his big hit featuring James McAvoy as a chatterbox psycho with multiple-annoying-personality disorder. From that point on, the Shyamalan brand regained a kind of parody of its former luster. People were coming out to see his films again,...