by Pete Langenfeld

Created on: May 28, 2009   Last Updated: June 04, 2009

The question needs to be asked now. What happened to the career of M.Night Shyamalan?

When he made his first movie everyone asked whether he was going to be the next Hitchcock. Looking at his body of work up to this point, I wonder if the more apt comparison would be the next Orson Welles, with the greatest success coming in the first movie. While Welles had success after "Citizen Kane", nothing ever measured up. What he was left with were a few cult hits. Only history will decide where Shyamalan and his career fall. Is it "Hitchcock" of is it "Welles?"

What started off as the spark of what should have been a great career, has flamed out with "The Happening." When I saw his first movie, "The Sixth Sense," in the theater I admit that as I watched it I thought it was "just okay." And then the ending hit me. I was dumbfounded. I bought the DVD when it came out and I watched it again. I was amazed at what he was able to do. He had such a deft touch, just letting the viewers mind lead them places. The viewer didn't need to be pushed into conclusions, the mind led the way. All Shyamalan had to do was get out of the way. "The Sixth Sense" is still one of my favorite movies.

And then "Unbreakable" came out, I saw it on DVD the first time; it was okay, but I haven't seen it again. Then came "Signs." I liked it, but I just watched it again and it didn't overwhelm me. There's a pattern emerging. Next came "The Village," which I liked. I've tried to watch it several times since I first saw it, but for some reason I never get to it. What does it say about a movie (that you liked) if you're so reticent to watch it again?

Then there is "The Lady in the Water." The critics were unimpressed, to say the least. I think I WANTED to like the movie, more that I actually did, but it's one that I will have to view again to see where I fall.

Which brings us to "The Happening." I had heard all the bad press about the movie, but I was determined to give the movie a shot. I tried to be fair in my viewing, it was a tough go. I think I failed.

To be fair, I think Shyamalan had his work cut out for him when he tried to make wind scary. And not the tornado kind of wind, we're talking about a gentle breeze kind of wind. So he put himself behind the eight ball, but a great director call pull himself out of that, Hitchcock made birds scary.

Shyamalan started to lose me when he had a character spout this line (to a cop), "Why are you feeding me useless bits of information, one piece at

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