M. Night Shyamalan was born into many moviegoers’ awareness when 
Sixth Sense came out and blew everything out of the water for its 
unconventional and groundbreaking twisty conclusion. What many 
don’t realize is that he had been in the film industry, writing 
and directing for already seven years before his name was finally 
recognized.

Born in India, but raised in the wealthy district of 
Philadelphia, he quickly developed a love for filmmaking at a 
young age when his parents bought him an 8mm camera when he was 
only eight years old. From then on, he made short films that were 
not limited to the horror genre. In fact, his first two feature 
films were more focused on family and human relationships than 
the horror or suspense/thriller genre that he is now known for.

His thesis film Praying with Anger got him some exposure but not 
as much as he had hoped for. Another disappointment came when his 
second project Wide Awake fell flat at the box office. The budget 
was reportedly six million dollars but the box office only 
generated revenues of only close to 300,000 dollars.

Of course, the Sixth Sense completely changed the course of 
Shyamalan’s career. It was made on a budget of 40 million dollars 
and generated revenues of over 600 million dollars worldwide. 
Many argue that it was the twist ending that separated it from 
the less successful Wide Awake – which also started Julia Stiles 
and Rosie O’Donnell. Others feel that it was simply a better told 
story.

Whatever the case, Shyamalan continued to write films that would 
work towards the surprise ending although he himself said many 
times that it was more of a negative pressure than a blessing. 
"That's the way stories come to me, they come to me very 
naturally like that. If this was a story about me and someone 
else, I would be withholding information about them immediately. 
The negative thing about the twist is that it's all people are 
occupied with; all the gentleness in the movie is being 
overshadowed by the flashy cousin in the sequined vest taking 
centre-stage."

There have been many other films that followed that tried to 
capitalize on the twist ending method such as the Others and 
Identity but they could not achieve the effectiveness of the 
Sixth Sense. Even Shyamalan’s later work like Unbreakable or the 
village did not have the spontaneous feel to them. "They felt 
rehearsed and so calculated that it didn’t feel real anymore. 
Like he just put the twist ending there just for the sake of 
doing it to please the audience. It didn’t really connect to the 
rest of the story, it didn’t make sense," explains Reagan 
Portnoy, a film professor in Los Angeles. 

Shyamalan along with other directors such as Tarantino (Pulp 
Fiction), Christopher Nolan (Memento), Shervin Youssefian
(Machiavelli Hangman) and Paul Haggis (Crash) in recent years, 
have pushed the envelope of filmmaking to open our eyes to 
its great possibilities. 

So to that, let’s make a toast: Long live risks, love live 
breaking of the rules, long live the power of Hollywood! 

Frank Brandon Allen is a movie reviewer. 
Machiavelli Hangman: 
http://www.hangmanmovie.com