2. Unbreakable (2000, dir. M. Night Shyamalan)
It's strange to think that M. Night Shyamalan's films used to be highly anticipated because we thought they would be good. However, I think that officially ended after Lady in the Water. Despite the fact that his reputation has diminished recently because of a string of laughably, utterly bad films, it should be said that he does have a few good movies to his credit, including this potently atmospheric tale of a ordinary man who seemingly can't be harmed. After emerging unscathed from a catastrophic train accident, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) meets Elijah Price, a comic book enthusiast with a rare condition that makes his bones extremely fragile. Elijah believes David to be a superhero of sorts, a fact that David think is crazy. Over the course of the film, however, he comes to accept his special abilities and their potential to help people. For most of the film, Shyamalan demonstrates an impressive visual and tonal command. Unfortunately, in the film's ending Shyamalan lets his more ridiculous side get the better of him. In Unbreakable's final scene, David finds out that Elijah not only purposefully caused the train accident that revealed David's abilities, but he was also responsible for numerous other disasters. This twist is actually quite effective, but what happens after is not. First, Elijah senselessly babbles on about knowing one's place in the world and how to spot the archvillian in a comic book? What? Then, as David stalks away, Elijah calls out to him, "I should have known way back when. You know why, David? Because of the kids! They called me Mr. Glass!" Finally, a title scroll appears, explaining that David would later lead police to Elijah and that he would be admitted to a mental institution for the criminally insane. And with that, what had been a darkly realistic take on a superhero story turned into Shyamalan farce.
1. High Tension (2003, dir. Alexandre Aja)