Shyamalan suffers from delusion of grandeur and proves he can write a good Twilight Zone episode circa 1960!

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2004)

Shyamalan expertly directs his actors and technically masters the camera, but don't ever let him write a script until he learns to move on from this whole charade of "twists" and "reveals". Shyamalan is no Hitchcock. He's not even a De Palma. I figured out what the "twist" was a month ago from watching and rewatching the trailers and reading the (ridiculous) three rules. I was shocked/ p***ed off/humored when the twist came and realized how juvenile and unoriginal it is. Seeing the box office dwindle from Fri to Sat to Sun made me happy and I hope people are spreading the word that they have been "had".
This movie plays well as a drama, but is not suspenseful, nor thrilling or frightening or horrorific, as the advertising campaign would like us to believe. I can't believe that Disney even released this film with that campaign. Shame on them! Very much a case of "the Emperor's New Clothes"! Save your money and go see something truly intelligent and thrilling, like "The Manchurian Candidate". PS: As for Shyamalan's delusions of grandeur - please stop with the annoying habit of inserting yourself into your films, a la Hitchcock - its neither smart nor funny and took me out of the action. Unless you show up next time as a female extra, I'm not impressed.