Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

M Night Shyamalan claims his plot twists aren’t a big deal

Director pointed out that the twist is a common occurrence in the horror and thriller genres

Roisin O'Connor
Tuesday 26 November 2019 16:46 GMT
Comments
(Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

M Night Shyamalan has said that “the twist”, the plot device with which he is most famously associated, isn’t actually of particular interest to him as a director.

Shyamalan has long held a reputation as the “master” of the plot twist, dating back to his Oscar-nominated film The Sixth Sense. The 1999 film ultimately revealed that a character played by Bruce Willis had been dead for the duration of the movie.

Speaking to the New York Post about his new Apple+ series, Servant, he said: “For me, [the twist] is not actually something that’s of interest. Mystery or suspense inherently has a moment of awareness. If I told romantic comedies, there would be an emotional moment.

“So, by nature of the genre that I’m interested in, it will most likely have a moment where you realised something,” he continued. “That comes more with the genre than with me.”

Servant is a series of 30-minute episodes about a young couple existing in the aftermath of their baby’s death. To cope, the father Sean gets a doll and pretends it’s their baby – the mother, Dorothy, is so distraught that she doesn’t seem to notice. They hire a nanny to look after the child as though it’s real, and things quickly turn sinister from there.

While Shyamalan suffered negative reactions to films such as Lady in the Water (2006) and The Happening (2008), he has enjoyed a resurgence with 2015’s The Visit and 2016’s Split, which starred James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in