Some directors achieve fame gradually, building recognition movie by movie, accruing bankable status over time. Others hit like a bolt of lightning, one great movie turning them into a household name virtually overnight.
M. Night Shyamalan falls into the latter category. The Philadelphia filmmaker owes his career and auteur reputation to The Sixth Sense, and particularly to the film’s third-act reveal, an audacious plot twist that has entered the cultural consciousness in a way few plot twists have. (If by some miracle you don’t know what the twist is, this is your warning not to read any further.) As the film gets a new 4K Blu-ray release this month — and as Shyamalan seems to be in full comeback mode with the success of his concert thriller Trap — it’s the right time to revisit his breakout hit.
