11. 'Wide Awake' (1998)

Between his student film "Praying with Anger" and his blockbuster "The Sixth Sense," Shyamalan wrote and directed a kooky family comedy. It's a heartwarming look at a Catholic schoolkid's quest to find God after his dear grandpa dies. Rosie O'Donnell plays a Phillies-obsessed nun at Waldron Mercy Academy, Shyamalan's old school where he partially filmed, who tries to help Joshua (Joseph Cross) as he tries various methods to ask God if grandpa's alright. There are sweet moments and plenty of laughs until Josh's resolve shakes. The final reveal is touching, if a bit saccharine: God was there all along, and Josh gets the reassurance he needed.

10. 'Glass' (2019)

The last installment of Shyamalan's cerebral superhero trilogy — following "Unbreakable" (2000) and "Split" (2016) — "Glass" falls flat. There was so much potential in finally uniting the mastermind Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), the hero David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and the evil Horde (James McAvoy playing 24 different personalities) after a 19-year buildup, but the plot gets unwieldy. All three are captured by a doctor (Sarah Paulson) who calls them delusional. When they escape from the institution — a transformed Allentown State Hospital — the promised-to-be-epic showdown between good and bad doesn't even leave the parking lot. The strongman drowns in a puddle, the genius shatters for the last time, and the villain is shot as his victim (Anya Taylor-Joy) comforts him in a warped, Stockholm syndrome relationship.

9. 'The Visit' (2015)

Old people are scary. That's the basic premise for this horror flick set in Philly suburbs, where a single mom (Kathryn Hahn) sends her kids to stay with her estranged parents, to whom she hasn't spoken in decades. Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) and Nana (Deanna Dunagan)'s creepy antics seem harmless, but soon devolve into unhinged, occasionally naked outbursts. Still processing trauma from their parents' split, the terrified siblings (Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould) capture all the weirdness on camera. Everything becomes clear when Hahn delivers the scariest line as calmly as she can: "Those are not your grandparents." It's chilling, tense and disturbing — but don't worry, the kids get out of there alive.

8. 'The Happening' (2008)

Hundreds of people suddenly begin killing themselves in Rittenhouse Square Park one sunny day. Mass suicides are reported throughout the Northeast in what's considered a biological terrorist attack, leading a high school science teacher Elliot (Mark Wahlberg), his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), best friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and his daughter (Ashlyn Sanchez) to escape the city on Amtrak. But the train crew loses contact with everyone. They split up and try to find somewhere safe but by the time the couple gives up hope and is ready to die together — the little girl's future be damned — the air is no longer toxic. Months later, Alma is pregnant because nothing says I survived a near-apocalypse like fixing your marriage with a baby.

7. 'Knock at the Cabin' (2023)

Shyamalan's latest psychological thriller, based on a Paul Tremblay novel, is a slow burn that questions our sense of reality. Four armed strangers break into a cabin rental in rural Pennsylvania where two dads (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) are vacationing with their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui). The family faces an unbelievable dilemma: save humanity by sacrificing one of the three, or watch the world end, supposedly. Touching performances from a solid cast make it work, though the emotional ending falls into the bury your gays trope.

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