M. Night Shyamalan Caught in His Own ‘Trap’: How ’The Sixth Sense’ Became a Yardstick For All His Films
- The Indian American filmmaker has been defined by the iconic ending of the classic film starring Bruce Willis, despite his several successful films which were known for their suspenseful twists and unanticipated ending.
M. Night Shyamalan’s film — “The Sixth Sense” — has always been a yardstick the ace filmmaker has been compared to. The success of the 1999 Bruce Willis classic catapulted the Philadelphia-based Indian American into an overnight sensation. The film grossed $700 million worldwide off a $40 million budget and notched six Oscar nominations including direction and original screenplay nods for Shyamalan.
With a career spanning four decades, Shyamalan has carved a niche for himself for his unusual style of storytelling. He has enjoyed a career of ups and downs, hits and flops, twists that worked, and those that didn’t. He has “the rare distinction of having film open at No. 1 in each of those decades,” according to a Deadline report.
But he’s “come to be defined by the twist,” as the Los Angeles Times noted, “especially because he kept chasing after equally expert twist endings in his subsequent films.” His later films like “Split,” and “Unbreakable,” were lauded for their suspenseful twists and unanticipated endings.
Although he started making movies while still a student at New York University, the Los Angeles Times says Shyamalan “benefited from audiences having no idea who he was.” Before “Sixth Sense,” he had directed “Praying with Anger” (1992), which he starred in, followed by “Wide Awake” (1998). “So there was little warning that the budding auteur, who turned 29 the day his magnum opus opened, would knock us sideways,” the LA Times said.
Other big hits include “Signs,” “The Village,” and “The Visit.” His 2000 spin on the comic-book action thriller “Unbreakable” was followed up by “Split” and “Glass,” the combined trio of movies earning $773.5 million worldwide. Despite the success of these films, Shyamalan “would come to be defined by the twist, especially because he kept chasing after equally expert twist endings in his subsequent films,” the LA Times noted.
His latest film “Trap” has been receiving mixed reviews. The film revolves around a serial killer who’s sought by the FBI during a stakeout at a T-Swift-like concert. Cooper (Josh Hartnett) takes his teen Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert by megastar Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan’s real-life daughter and musician Saleka Night Shyamalan), who becomes caught up in Cooper’s escape attempt when he discovers the show is a large-scale trap to capture him.
Not only did Saleka Night Shyamalan play one of the main characters in the film, she also penned and composed the songs. “While getting to play a main character is “very exciting,” the 28-year-old told USA Today that it was “definitely out of my comfort zone.” As the father and daughter both love Prince’s “Purple Rain,” Shyamalan told USA Today he wanted a soundtrack where “the buoyancy and the artistry of the music is affecting the movie in a significant way.”
So, Shyamalan wrote a script that called for 14 songs that Saleka “would write, perform, mix, and produce, plus learn a bunch of choreography,” he told USA Today. “It was insane,” he said. “I was saying to her, ‘I’m not sure how many people on the planet could do what I’m asking you to do, but I’m asking you to do it anyway.’ ”
In June, Shyamalan’s middle daughter Ishana released her debut film “The Watchers,” starring Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, and Olwen Fouere. An adaptation of A.M. Shine’s 2021 gothic horror novel of the same name, it follows Mina (Fanning), a 28-year-old artist who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When she finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night. It was produced by her proud father through his Blinding Edge Pictures production company. The film, however, received negative reviews from critics and grossed $33 million worldwide.
Being doubtful of the film’s profitability, the Los Angeles Times “Trap” has “a mediocre finale,” and also “underperformed on its opening weekend.” In the film’s review in the publication, Tim Grierson touched upon Shyamalan’s first superhit — “The Sixth Sense.” “Fairly or not, he’ll always be punished for pulling off one of the hardest things in the story — and then daring to repeat it,” he Grierson wrote, noting that “if he’d stop pursuing such endings, we would have forgiven him by now.”
The Guardian called the film “a mess,” and called out Shyamalan for using it as “a backdoor showcase for Saleka. “Just months after he tried to force his other daughter, Ishana, into the spotlight, by producing her loathed horror film The Watchers, he’s now insisting Saleka breaks out – an equally unlikely ascent given the evidence,” the reviewer Benjamin Lee said. “While her music is just about believable, if a little dated, for a star of her stature, as an actor, she’s an uncomfortable distraction,” Lee added.
The Associated Press said with “Trap,” Shyamalan made “a particularly bold and even confusing move to reveal so much so soon.” The review by Lindsey Bahr pointed out another shortcoming. “‘Trap’ really doesn’t take itself that seriously,” she said, but called it “a solidly entertaining film that’s mostly silly and sometimes unnerving.” While the viewer is “not exactly rooting for Hartnett’s Cooper,” they are “drawn in enough to be ever curious about his next move.”
Not all reviews were negative. The Wrap said the film is “a fiendishly clever thriller,” where “Shyamalan’s dastardly screenplay gives Cooper all the tools he needs.” Actor and filmmaker Myles Hughes called it “a perfect distillation of how M. Night Shyamalan has grown as an artist, combining B-movie thrills with family drama to great effect.” In a post on X he said it “might be his most purely entertaining film yet.”