Jacob Leighton Burns is the director of the awarding-winning and reality-warping Electric Nostalgia, as well as the upcoming time-travel horror film, Shifter. Lauded for his ability to contort an audience’s perception, Burns appropriately cites many of M. Night Shyamalan‘s thrillers among his influences. He is also one of the co-founder of The Cinematropolis. Pulling briefly away from the set of his latest picture, Burns curated a selection of cinema to sample with any Shyamalanian outing.
The Village and Robert Eggers’ The VVitch
While the two above films have wildly different plots, they share a distinct mystique, atmosphere, and thematic material. Both feature a group of people living outside the civilized lands dealing with the aftermath of grief. The VVitch is a much bleaker film, but The Village carries a sadness underneath its surface that lingers long after the credits roll. On top of that, if watching characters wandering through the woods and finding scary things is what you’re after, both films have got you covered.
Signs and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds
When Shyamalan is at his best, he finds a way to balance humor, drama, and terror all at once, not unlike the Master of Suspense himself. Shyamalan’s Signs takes its time doling out the tension, giving us time to grow familiar with our protagonist and his relationships with those around him. Hitchcock’s The Birds takes a similar route. Both films allow us to understand all the strengths and weaknesses of their characters as they slowly put the pieces together about the otherworldly dangers that await them.
Unbreakable and Josh Trank’s Chronicle
These films take a more grounded approach to superhero mythology, yet also take the opportunity to explore in-depth origin narratives. Unbreakable follows a man who feels burdened by power and can’t bring himself to believe its existence before ultimately embracing it. In contrast, Chronicle follows a group of teens who can’t wait to exploit it, using it for personal gain, and leading them down a dark path. Both movies put forth an identical question: If you somehow got superpowers, which path would you follow?
Sixth Sense and Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Diabolique
In 1999, Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense put a new spin on ghost stories by reinventing what they could be on screen, much like Clouzot’s Diabolique did in 1955 by blending horror with crime drama. The wife and mistress of a school principal work together to plan the perfect murder, and what follows is too captivating to not see for yourself.
Split and Glass
Ok, I know this is cheating, but I just really can’t wait to see Glass!!!
