Can M. Night Shyamalan Make a Comeback 25 Years After "Sixth Sense"?

With his new psychological thriller "Trap: No Way Out," U.S. director M. Night Shyamalan (53) is indirectly celebrating a notable anniversary. After all, the film's release on August 1st coincides almost exactly with the 25th anniversary of his masterpiece "The Sixth Sense." The film, starring Bruce Willis (69), hit U.S. theaters on August 6, 1999, earning the now 53-year-old Shyamalan a reputation as the new wunderkind of Hollywood. Since then, much has changed—and many critics now see his greatest strength as his greatest weakness.

The Icarus of Hollywood? When asked about the greatest twists in movie history, a fan's top three might look something like this: "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father. Norman Bates turns out to be the female-murdering "Psycho." And Bruce Willis' character in "The Sixth Sense" was dead the entire film!

The success of the six-time Oscar-nominated horror-thriller, which also starred young talent Haley Joel Osment (36) and character actress Toni Collette (51), was enormous. Those who hadn't seen the film were driven to theaters by word of mouth, and those who had already seen it bought another ticket just to confirm that the clues to the incredible twist were actually there.

With the skyrocketing expectations for Shyamalan, his budgets grew in the following years. Although "Unbreakable" (his second collaboration with Willis) and the 2002 alien film "Signs" received good to very good reviews, neither matched the commercial success of the much less expensive "The Sixth Sense." Moreover, they fueled a fear that would solidify in the coming years—was Shyamalan just a one-hit wonder?

The fact is: the budgets and success of his films went in diametrically opposite directions. The 2006 mystery film "Lady in the Water" became a financial disaster and failed to recoup its costs. Nevertheless, he was given $150 million for the adaptation "The Last Airbender" (2010) and $130 million for the sci-fi film "After Earth" (2013). Both films performed moderately at the box office relative to their costs and received devastating reviews.

Back to Basics By the time of the "After Earth" debacle, Shyamalan had completely exhausted his "Sixth Sense" credit. This became abundantly clear with his next project "The Visit": gone were the days of willing financiers, and he had to make the indie film with just five million dollars. And behold, without the pressure of a large budget, Shyamalan garnered more favorable reviews for the first time since "Signs." It also took that long for him to come up with a twist at the end of "The Visit" that didn't feel like a cheap trick.

The fine line between Shyamalan's genius and hubris became glaringly obvious with his subsequent films "Split" and "Glass." In a cleverly executed plot twist, the former turned out to be a sequel to "Unbreakable"—and thus a superhero film. Strong in both acting and craftsmanship, "Split" gave his career new momentum—momentum that he quickly squandered with "Glass."

The 2019 film was a disappointing conclusion to the trilogy. Even solid box office numbers couldn't mask the fact that the director had become overly artistic. The newly rebuilt trust of the audience waned, and his subsequent projects "Old" and "Knock at the Cabin" largely flew under the radar. Which brings us to the present.

Is it a Trap? The idea behind "Trap," starring Josh Hartnett (46) in the lead role, promises a mix of thriller and suspense. The short version: Hartnett plays the seemingly loving father Cooper, who attends a concert with his daughter. In reality, Cooper is a monstrous serial killer—and the event is a police trap to finally capture him.

Hartnett showed convincingly that he could play a madman in last year's series "Black Mirror." However, the cast has never been the problem in a Shyamalan film—it's the expectations for the ending that have often fallen short. A popular joke already making the rounds: the biggest twist in an M. Night Shyamalan film would be if there were none.