M. Night Shyamalan’s career took a nosedive because he became synonymous with a “twist” ending. After The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan failed to impress viewers with Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water and even The Happening. In fact, his next work – The Visit – carries an incredibly underwhelming finale.
The best thing since the 1999 Sixth Sense was his production Devil, a Hitchcockian thriller from the Dowdle brothers. I say this because Shyamalan is now behind Fox’s “Wayward Pines,” developed for the small screen from Blake Crouch’s novels “Pines,” “Wayward,” and “The Last Town.”
Much like Devil, Shyamalan leaves the director’s chair alone (sans the pilot) and puts on his producing hat.
More importantly, he leaves the storyline to other writers.
I just caught up on FOX’s “Wayward Pines,” which has now aired three mysterious episodes, and couldn’t be more surprised. I was positive I knew where the series was headed, only the third episode threw everything at me, including the kitchen sink. Even though Shyamalan isn’t the brains behind the mystery, it’s showing (delayed) growth and maturity that he would attach his name to a project that has evolved past him (maybe After Earth was a kick in the ass?).
Even though “The Twilight Zone” opened people’s minds to the unordinary, viewers since have forgotten how to think outside of the box. The Sixth Sense reawakened the viewers’ minds, and turned Hollywood into a melting pot of twists and turns. Growing up in the post-Sixth Sense world has turned us all into “movie detectives,” hoping to figure out the end before the first act has even concluded. I’m just as guilty as everyone else.
And being that every idea has already been done in Hollywood (remakes proving this), viewers aren’t going to feel satisfied anymore with just a surprise finale. A major lesson came of Shyamalan’s failures, one that even he’s learned over the years – it’s not about how a project ends, it’s about the journey. It’s something video game developers learned years ago, and Hollywood is just starting to get on the bandwagon.
“Wayward Pines” introduces us to both an evolved Shyamalan and “twist ending.” It takes off the restraints and throws everything at you, while holding one major mystery behind door number 3. By the end of the third episode, “Wayward Pines” screams at you to stop guessing and just go along for the ride. Let the storytellers read you this bedtime story without any interruptions. Will you let them?
For those unacquainted with “Wayward Pines,” the series follows a Secret Service agent (Matt Dillon) who goes to Wayward Pines, Idaho, in search of two federal agents who have gone missing in the bucolic town. He soon learns that he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.
You will think you figured it all out. But you haven’t…