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In Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer," a man without a past rattles around in the life of a man with too much of one. He begins by reading the work of an earlier ghost who mysteriously drowned, and finds it boring and conventional. Hired to pep up the manuscript to justify a $10 million advance, he discovers material to make it exciting, all right, and possibly deadly.

This movie is the work of a man who knows how to direct a thriller. Smooth, calm, confident, it builds suspense instead of depending on shock and action. The actors create characters who suggest intriguing secrets. The atmosphere -- a rain-swept Martha's Vineyard in winter -- has an ominous, gray chill, and the main interior looks just as cold.

This is the beach house being used by Adam Lang ( Pierce Brosnan ), a former British prime minister so inspired by Tony Blair that he might as well be wearing a nametag. Lang has one of those households much beloved by British authors of country house mysteries, in which everyone is a potential suspect -- of something, anyway. Lang's wife Ruth ( Olivia Williams ), smart and bitter, met Lang at Cambridge. His aide Amelia ( Kim Cattrall ), smart and devious, is having an affair with him. The wife knows, and isn't above referring to it in front of the Ghost. Security men lurk about, and a couple of service workers look rather sinister.

Just as his new ghost writer starts work, Lang is accused by his former foreign minister of sanctioning the kidnapping and torture of suspects. The World Court prepares an indictment. It would be unwise for Lang to return to Britain, and he flees to Washington for a photo op with the U.S. administration, unnamed, although the Secretary of State looks a whole lot like Condi Rice.

The PM's story is based on a best-seller by Robert Harris , who co-wrote the screenplay with Polanski. He implies parallels between his story and the Blair and (both) Bush administrations, but uses a light touch and sly footwork so that not every viewer will necessarily connect the dots. There is also a loud clanging alarm inviting comparison between Polanski's Lang, an exile sought by a court, and Polanski himself. This is also the fourth thriller in recent months to make a villain of a corporation obviously modeled on Halliburton.

The Ghost is left to his own devices in a house haunted by the unsaid, and Polanski slips into a pure filmmaking mode. I won't describe what the Ghost searches for, but I will tell you that Polanski evokes Hitchcock in a conversation with an elderly local ( Eli Wallach ) and some forbidding beach scenes. And that he is masterful in the way he shows the dead former Ghost providing the new one with directions, so to speak, leading to a possible source.

There is also a Hitchcock touch in visuals where an incriminating note is passed from hand to hand; the scene is so well done that it distracts from the fact that the Ghost didn't need the information in the note to arrive at the same inference.

There are a few other loose ends. The film seems to have a high incidence of black cars designed to be used as murder weapons. It's far from clear what Ruth's emotional state is on one rainy night. The Ghost himself seems too much a lightweight to explain his daring sleuthing. But the performances are so convincing in detail that they distract us from our questions. McGregor's character has no family, little pride and much insouciance, but is very smart and doesn't enjoy his intelligence being insulted. And Olivia Williams projects the air of a wife who is committed to her husband in more than expected ways.

"The Ghost Writer" is handsome, smooth and persuasive. It is a Well-Made Film. Polanski at 76 provides a reminder of directors of the past who were raised on craft, not gimmicks, and depended on a deliberate rhythm of editing rather than mindless quick cutting. The film immerses you in its experience. It's a reminder that you can lose yourself in a story because all a film really wants to do is tell it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Ghost Writer (2010)

Rated PG-13 some language and implied behavior

128 minutes

Tom Wilkinson as Paul Emmett

Timothy Hutton as Sidney Kroll

James Belushi as John Maddox

Ewan McGregor as The Ghost

Eli Wallach as Old man

Pierce Brosnan as Adam Lang

Olivia Williams as Ruth Lang

Kim Cattrall as Amelia Bly

• Robert Harris

Directed by

• Roman Polanski

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M. Night Shyamalan's Best Movie, According To Rotten Tomatoes

As a guy from Philadelphia, I've always felt a kinship with M. Night Shyamalan. The filmmaker who made plot twists hip again is a Philly guy, and a large chunk of his movies are set in the City of Brotherly Love. As a result, when I watch an M. Night movie, I often spot locations that are overly familiar to me. This turns me into the "pointing Leo" meme, and I sit up, point at the screen, and say "Hey, I know where that is!" It's like a little treat. But beyond Shyamalan's penchant for using Philadelphia as a setting, I also just  really enjoy his films. I'm proud to say that I stuck with the filmmaker while others turned on him, and I was thrilled when he began what is considered his big comeback starting with "The Visit" and continuing with "Split." After being written off by many critics and moviegoers, and the industry as a whole, Shyamalan was hot again! 

You likely know all about his meteoric rise. After his indie drama debut "Praying with Anger" (1992) and the forgotten family film "Wide Awake" (1998), Shyamalan broke out in a huge way with the 1999 ghost story "The Sixth Sense." While that movie got a lot of press because of its big twist, it was also just a damn good movie overall, and more or less gave Shyamalan carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wanted. And what he wanted to do was follow things up with "Unbreakable," a movie that was a serious drama ... about superheroes. The superhero movie boom would make such an idea commonplace, but it was somewhat radical when "Unbreakable" arrived in 2000. M. Night followed that up with one of his biggest blockbusters, the alien invasion thriller "Signs." But While "Signs" garnered good reviews and even better box office returns, there was a sense that people were starting to grow a little tired of Shyamalan's schtick. The downfall began. Shyamalan's next movie, "The Village," was also a box office hit — but critics weren't happy with it, and audiences felt hoodwinked by the marketing, which tried to sell the film as a full-blown horror movie, something it absolutely was not. 

Shyamalan pressed on, but his "brand" was damaged. His next movie, "Lady in the Water," was not well-received at all. Nor was his wonderfully silly B-movie "The Happening." "The Last Airbender" wasn't a total flop, but it wasn't a hit either — and fans downright hated it. Things had gotten so dire for Shyamalan that when his next movie, the Will Smith sci-fi film "After Earth," arrived, Shyamalan's name was left out of the trailers, as if the studio was afraid mentioning him would turn people off. Some of us might've called it quits at this point, but not Shyamalan. His next film, 2015's "The Visit," was financed entirely by Shyamalan himself. And his gamble paid off: audiences had fun and critics called it a return to form. M. Night was back, baby! 

M. Night Shyamalan's big comeback

Shyamalan kept things moving along in the wake of "The Visit." His next film was "Split," an excellent, tense thriller that also acted as a continuation of "Unbreakable." This, in turn, lead to "Glass," a film that acted as a sequel to both "Unbreakable" and "Split." Critics didn't love it (and sadly, that includes me ), but it still did well at the box office. And at this point, Shyamalan was cooking again. He followed "Glass" with the wonderfully strange "Old," aka the movie about the beach that makes you old. After that came the apocalyptic thriller "Knock at the Cabin."

Now, Shyamalan is about to do it again with "Trap." Sadly, the studio releasing "Trap," Warner Bros., is  not screening it for critics — and that both concerns me and gives me pause. Usually, when a studio doesn't screen a film for critics it's a sign that folks involved don't have confidence in the movie. But hasn't Shyamalan earned that confidence by now? The guy was counted out before, only to bounce back in a big way. Why not give him the benefit of the doubt? Then again, for all I know, this "no critics screening" edict could be coming directly for Shyamalan himself. Perhaps he's been so burned by negative reviews in the past that he wants to avoid them altogether. I don't know the answer. All I know is that I think "Trap" looks like a lot of fun, and I'm sad I wasn't given the opportunity to review it. 

Speaking of reviews, you might be wondering: what is Shyamalan's  best movie, at least according to the critics? For that question, we turn to Rotten Tomatoes. As is usually the case with a story like this, it's worth noting that Rotten Tomatoes is not the final say in a movie's quality. It should be used as a guide, not definitive proof. That said, when we look at Shyamalan's movies on Rotten Tomatoes , one title stands above the rest. 

M. Night Shyamalan's best movie (according to Rotten Tomatoes)

This probably won't surprise you, but according to Rotten Tomatoes, the best M. Night Shyamalan movie is "The Sixth Sense." You know the story: Bruce Willis is Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who begins working with Cole Sear, played by Haley Joel Osment. Cole is a shy, quiet young boy with a big secret: he sees dead people. Cole has the power to see, and even communicate with ghosts, and while this is traumatizing for the kid, Malcolm helps him harness his powers for good. And then — what a twist! — we learn that Malcolm has been dead for almost the entire movie. He's a ghost, too, and only Cole could see him. 

With 163 reviews, the film sits at a fresh 86% on Rotten Tomatoes , which, in all honesty, is way too friggin' low for my tastes. The Critics Consensus states, "M Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense is a twisty ghost story with all the style of a classical Hollywood picture, but all the chills of a modern horror flick." "An effectively understated and moodily engrossing ghost film with a surprisingly satisfying jolt at the end," wrote Andrew Sarris for The Observe. Carrie Rickey, in Philly's own Philadelphia Inquirer, said , "So transparent is Osment as an actor, and so rare, that the pain on his face stabs you in the heart." And the GOAT Roger Ebert wrote , "'The Sixth Sense' has a kind of calm, sneaky self-confidence that allows it to take us down a strange path, intriguingly."

But is The Sixth Sense M. Night Shyamalan's best movie?

All this begs the question:  is "The Sixth Sense" the  best  M. Night Shyamalan movie? It's an excellent film, and definitely ranks near the top of his filmography. But I don't think I agree that it's the best. For a while there, I might've said "Unbreakable" was Shyamalan's number one film. But these days, I think I'd have to pick "The Village." I know this is a controversial choice — as mentioned above, this is the film where it felt like audiences began to turn on Shyamalan. Critics didn't love it, either — it sits rotten at 44% on RT.  

But I believe the film is simply misunderstood, and worth revisiting — or rediscovering. A haunting, melancholy meditation on grief and the lies people are willing to tell themselves in order to feel secure in this terrifying world, "The Village" was marketed as a full-blown scary movie, but it's much more meditative than that. It's a quiet, gorgeous film featuring a star-making turn from Bryce Dallas Howard, and I'll always defend it . 

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The ghost writer — film review.

In "The Ghost Writer," Roman Polanski most clearly means to evoke Hitchcock. He builds his scenes through ominous music, the rhythms of his editing and a central figure, an innocent, who struggles to gain control of a living nightmare.

By Kirk Honeycutt , The Associated Press October 14, 2010 8:42pm

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BERLIN — Roman Polanski is a filmmaker who could envelop an old lady’s stroll along a boulevard with a sense of anxiety and dread, so it’s a little odd that he hasn’t made more thrillers in his career. “The Ghost Writer,” an out-and-out thriller with international politics and war crimes as its background, gives him a springboard to take a deep dive into all the moody atmosphere, breathtaking betrayals, words loaded in double meanings and heart-stopping threats that make the genre so cinematic.

This is certainly one of the director’s most commercial films in a while, perhaps since his great thriller “Chinatown,” although a comparison to that film with its Robert Towne screenplay so rich in early 20th century California social and political history would not serve “The Ghost Writer” well. This is a slicker, shallower exercise. It’s hypnotic as it unfolds, but once the credit roll frees you from its grip, it doesn’t bear close scrutiny.

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Summit Entertainment has a sure-fire boxoffice hit domestically. The film should do equally well in overseas territories. It didn’t need the publicity boost of Polanski’s well-chronicled legal woes, but one of the peculiarities of our world is that this can only help.

In “The Ghost Writer,” Polanski most clearly means to evoke Hitchcock. Like the master, Polanski builds his scenes through ominous music, the rhythms of his editing, a heightened sense of place and a central figure, an innocent, who struggles to gain control of a living nightmare.

It’s one of the story’s amusing conceits that this figure is a writer. Not an investigative journalist or high-minded novelist, mind you, but a guy who “ghosts” celebrity memoirs. His last one was about a magician.

This time the ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) hits the jackpot — only he constantly wonders, What have I gotten myself into? The jackpot is a former British prime minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), and it’s a quick job with a lucrative payday.

He has two reasons to worry. Moments after landing the job, a former cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal rendition of British subjects for torture by the CIA. Secondly, he is the second writer on the job. The first one, Lang’s longtime aide, drowned under suspicious circumstances. Had he stumbled upon a dark secret in Lang’s life that cost him his life?

So the ghostwriter — he is not given a name — confronts a manuscript in sore need of rewriting plus the possibility that it contains a hint of what may have caused its writer’s death. He also confronts an unusual working arrangement.

It seems the ex-PM is holed up in a seaside town on an island off the eastern U.S. The Lang compound has an icy decor and a kind of sterile warmth against wintry weather that pounds the shore with winds and rain. The former British leader is cut off from the world, living in a security bubble with a frosty wife Ruth (Olivia Williams); an aide Amelia (Kim Cattrall), who may be his mistress; and an always present if not oppressive security detail.

The drumbeat from the outside world over the war crimes allegations hits the compound with greater force than the storms, bringing protestors and reporters. The writer struggles to make sense of the small contradictions in his client’s story, mixed signals from his wife and a perceived threat lurking “out there” that never quite reveals itself.

This is not the kind of thriller that requires a lot of action. Rather, unease creeps into every word and deed. The very shape and feng shui of the house’s interiors feel all wrong. Every human being the ghostwriter encounters seems to be dealing from the bottom of the deck.

There is another ghost here too, that of Tony Blair. Lang happens to share many characteristics with the former British PM especially an all-too-cozy relationship with the American president that threatens his legacy. Polanski’s co-writer, Robert Harris, who also wrote the novel on which the script is based, is a political journalist who was once close to Blair.

In the press notes, Harris pleads his work is fiction even as he is quick to point out his connection to Blair and his wife. So he’s having it both ways. So, ultimately, does the film.

McGregor hits all the right notes as a man with a conscience and sense of professional pride who is in way over his head. He’s smart but not too smart and doesn’t always make the right moves. Brosnan gets the politician’s arrogance perfectly as well as the duplicity lurking so close under the surface. Williams nearly steals the show as the wily, controlling wife that senses her control is at last slipping.

The film benefits from cameo appearances from Jim Belushi, Eli Wallach and Tom Wilkinson that propel the anonymous writer’s hasty investigation into his client. Alexandre Desplat’s music prowls around underneath the scenes, channeling Bernard Herrmann’s music for Hitchcock, while Pawel Edelman’s cinematography emphasizes cool colors and a barren seaside landscape.

Venue: Berlin International Film Festival — Competition (Summit Entertainment) Production companies: Summit Entertainment, Alain Sarde and Robert Benmussa present an R.P. Films, France 2 Cinema, Studio Babelsberg, Runteam III Ltd. production Cast: Ewan McGregor, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach, Robert Pugh, Jim Belushi Director: Roman Polanski Screenwriters: Roman Polanski, Robert Harris Based on the novel by: Robert Harris Producers: Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde, Timothy Burrill Director of photography: Pawel Edelman Production designer: Albrecht Konrad Music: Alexandre Desplat Costume designer: Dinah Collin Editor: Herve de Luze Rated PG-13, 128 minutes

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The ghost writer, common sense media reviewers.

Intense, masterful political thriller OK for older teens.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

No injustice will go unnoticed. Eventually the tru

The lead character, the ghost writer, starts off a

A dead man's body washes ashore. Another character

A man sleeps with his married client; his naked ba

A few mentions of "f--k," though most of the swear

Logos for such firms as BMW, Virgin Air and CNN ar

Characters drink, sometimes during social occasion

Parents need to know that this deftly written and directed tale of political intrigue will likely thrill fans of the genre, including older teens. It includes some swearing and brief nudity, and addresses mature subjects such as war crimes and terrorism. Another note: The director, Roman Polanski, is a controversial…

Positive Messages

No injustice will go unnoticed. Eventually the truth will come out, but the movie implies that there is always a cost to telling the hard truths and exposing injustice.

Positive Role Models

The lead character, the ghost writer, starts off as indifferent, but soon becomes committed to uncovering the truth, but no good deed goes unpunished and most everyone seems in on this cruel joke.

Violence & Scariness

A dead man's body washes ashore. Another character is mugged (no weapons flashed, though he's punched). A menacing feel sits over the movie, as a character races to solve the murder of another character. A man is shot.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A man sleeps with his married client; his naked backside is briefly glimpsed in the semi-dark. The couple is seen under the covers with their shoulders bared. A married man is implied to be having an affair with a member of his staff.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

A few mentions of "f--k," though most of the swear words heard here are milder, such as "s--t" and "goddamn."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Logos for such firms as BMW, Virgin Air and CNN are clearly visible in various scenes.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters drink, sometimes during social occasions, and others, specifically to drown out sorrows/frustrations. A mention of marijuana use during college.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this deftly written and directed tale of political intrigue will likely thrill fans of the genre, including older teens. It includes some swearing and brief nudity, and addresses mature subjects such as war crimes and terrorism. Another note: The director, Roman Polansk i, is a controversial auteur who is in the news right now. He stands accused of sexually coercing a child many decades ago and leaving the country to avoid prosecution. This movie has nothing to do with his trial and legal situation. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (4)
• Kids say (10)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Greatest Suspenseful Mystery

What's the story.

A British writer ( Ewan MacGregor ) is hired to be ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang's ( Pierce Brosnan ) "ghost," meaning he will be revising the politician's memoirs. The original ghost writer washed up on the shores of Martha's Vineyard, presumably a suicide or the victim of an accidental drowning. Before he even sets foot on the Vineyard estate in which the PM is holed up, MacGregor's character is mugged -- just the beginning of a series of mishaps that grow increasingly fraught with malevolence. Then, Lang is accused of war crimes. Soon after embarking on the project, the new ghost writer discovers untruths, not including the unraveling of the PM's marriage ( Olivia Williams plays the wife), that point to a scandal of international proportions. The writer might just end up like his predecessor.

Is It Any Good?

Despite the length of this unrelenting film, no moment or performance is a waste. THE GHOST WRITER opens with a ferry docking in the gloom of a rainy night. On board, a car is unclaimed, the whereabouts of its driver unknown. And so begins this mind-bending thriller based on a novel by Robert Harris that sheds its skin like the proverbial onion, one engrossing layer at a time. Director Roman Polanski has always been great with atmospherics, and he doesn't disappoint here. For all the complications of his personal life, his filmmaking faculties are clearly intact. He maintains a strong grip on the storytelling, revealing only what's necessary, and exactly at the right time.

MacGregor is superb, a bemused observer who quickly finds himself on shifting earth. Brosnan relishes a role shaded decidedly gray, and Williams is a perfect woman scorned. The supporting cast, crowded with names like Timothy Hutton , Eli Wallach , and Tom Wilkinson , makes the most of their moments. Kim Catrall, almost wholly identified with the Sex and the City franchise, makes you forget she's usually a randy cougar. The ending: Though it may feel too cinematically perfect, it works, and very well.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what other recourse the ghostwriter has once he finds himself stuck in the middle of a scandal. What else could he have done? How else should he have responded?

What about the political issues brought up by the film? Is what the prime minister accused of actually a war crime?

The director, Roman Polanski, is embroiled in a huge scandal, accused of a crime -- rape -- committed long ago. Should this situation have any bearing on his work? Is his art separate from his private life?

Movie Details

• In theaters : February 19, 2010
• On DVD or streaming : August 2, 2010
• Cast : Ewan McGregor , Kim Cattrall , Olivia Williams , Pierce Brosnan
• Director : Roman Polanski
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Summit Entertainment
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 128 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : language, brief nudity/sexuality, some violence and a drug reference
• Last updated : January 9, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Batman: Caped Crusader has done Batman: The Animated Series proud by landing a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

Caped Crusader is now streaming on Prime Video

Batman: Caped Crusader is the new show on the Bat-block, transporting Gotham’s protector and its cast of rogues and villains to a '40s setting in fine style.

The Prime Video show, a spiritual successor-of-sorts to Batman: The Animated Series, has already lived up to the hype – by netting a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score among critics just in time for release.

Caped Crusader is rated ‘fresh’ with a 100% rating after 40 reviews. It’s little surprise, too, giving the creatives behind it. Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm produced the series alongside The Batman director Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams .

Hamish Linklater steps into the cape and cowl of Batman for Caped Crusader, taking over from long-time Batman actor Kevin Conroy, who passed away in 2022 and voiced the DC hero dozens of times across movies, shows, and video games. The Caped Crusader cast also includes Minnie Driver as a gender-swapped Penguin, Christina Ricci as Catwoman, and Jamie Chung as Harley Quinn.

In my own Batman: Caped Crusader review – insert the Obama medal meme here – I wrote, "Batman: Caped Crusader is no pale imitation [of Batman: The Animated Series], however. It may carry the same moody tone, art deco setting, and nuanced villains that made the original series such a hit on the Fox Kids block three decades prior, but it’s a formidable remix to a beloved formula – and one that may yet define Batman for a new generation of viewers."

Angie Han’s review for The Hollywood Reporter surmised that, “With a sleek, simple style and a consistently moody vibe, the Prime Video series feels almost as steady Batman’s broad shoulders,” but added that “it rarely soars to the level of spectacular.”

The A.V. Club described it as a "moody, noirish thrill ride", while the Radio Times review lauded Caped Crusader’s art style.

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All 10 episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader are now streaming on Prime Video. 

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I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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How to Create the Perfect M. Night Shyamalan Movie

We rewatched shyamalan's 11 thrillers and broke down the numbers to see what makes his best films so successful..

TAGGED AS: movies , Mystery , thriller

With Trap opening this weekend, M. Night Shyamalan looks to build upon an impressive streak of trapping his movie characters in Pennsylvania-based locations, one that dates all the way back to his blockbuster 1999 film The Sixth Sense . Whether it’s trapping teenagers in zoo dungeons or aliens in farmhouse pantries, Shyamalan has an eerie penchant for locations or situations that are hard to escape. Even the projects that he’s produced or written, like Wayward Pines , Devil , Servant , and The Watchers , feature characters either literally or philosophically stuck in elevators, magic forests, or swanky brownstones.

In 2014, Shyamalan took out a loan on his 125-acre Pennsylvania estate and started self-funding his films to free himself of the trappings of the Hollywood system . His $5 million-budgeted found-footage thriller The Visit grossed $98.5 million worldwide, and since then he’s kept his budgets manageable by keeping his characters locked up in magic beaches, psychiatric facilities, and isolated cabins. The $769 worldwide box office haul of the five films he’s released since 2015 have allowed him to go a bit bigger with Trap as he ditches rural Pennsylvania farms for an arena jam-packed with screaming fans who don’t know an infamous serial killer is, you know, trapped among them while they sing along with their favorite pop star.

(Photo by ©Warner Bros. Pictures)

The title “ Trap ” got us thinking about other patterns in Shyamalan’s films, and whether or not they affect the overall Tomatometer score or worldwide box office. For instance, is it better for a film’s Tomatometer if characters are stuck in a single location for the majority of the movie? Do they fare better when they’re set in Philadelphia? What about if a cast member from Lucky Number Slevin is in it?

The trailer for Trap suggests that all three of those conditions have been met, so we’ll have to wait and see how well the thriller is received before we can say for sure.

In the meantime, we rewatched the 11 films that could best be described as “M. Night Shyamalan thrillers,” leaving out The Last Airbender , After Earth , and Wide Awake because they are outliers in his filmography and don’t feature Mark Wahlberg talking to a plant. During the rewatch, we took notes, looked for tears, and counted the twists to come up with seven data points that will almost certainly ensure the success of a M. Night Shyamalan thriller. Or not, if you don’t follow them.

(Photo by ©20th Century Fox)

With all of that in mind, sit back and focus all of your senses as we present six twisty Tomatometer facts to help craft the perfect M. Night Shyamalan movie. For reference, here are some numbers to know before we dive into the data:

• Movies in the Data Set: The Sixth Sense , Unbreakable , Signs , The Village , Lady in the Water , The Happening , The Visit , Split , Glass , Old , Knock at the Cabin
• Average Tomatometer: 56%
• Average Worldwide Box Office: $236 million

Oh, and it case it isn’t glaringly obvious: SPOILERS FOR SEVERAL M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN MOVIES WILL FOLLOW .

1. A Character Must Be Trapped for at Least 80% of the Film’s Running Time

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

• Shyamalan Movies That Feature a Character Being Trapped for at Least 80% of the Film’s Running Time: 61% Tomatometer Average / $306 Million Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies That Feature a Character Being Trapped for Less Than 80% of the Film’s Running Time: 53% Tomatometer Average / $177 million Worldwide Box Office Average

When it comes to our definition of “trapped,” we had to be fairly flexible. For instance, in Split . Casey Cooke ( Anya Taylor-Joy ) is locked up in Kevin Wendell Crumb’s ( James McAvoy ) secret lair for 85.4% of the film’s running time. In The Sixth Sense , the ghost of Malcolm Crowe ( Bruce Willis ) spends 84.1% of the 108 minutes trapped in the human realm before he can move on. Unbreakable’ s David Dunn (Willis again) is trapped in a tangled web of sadness and it isn’t until the 98.5-minute mark when he’s able to free himself from it. OK, so maybe that one’s a bit of a stretch.

The beauty of a M. Night Shyamalan film is figuring out what the trap is. In The Village , the children of the Village Elders are trapped not only in an isolated community surrounded by monsters, but also trapped in their parents’ lies and sadness. The trap can be metaphorical or literal, but it has to play out during 80% of the running time.

(Photo by ©Buena Vista Pictures)

It’s worth noting that in The Sixth Sense , Shyamalan’s most lauded and financially successful film, there are multiple traps. Dr. Crowe is stuck in the human realm, and Cole Sear ( Haley Joel Osment ) is stuffed into a “dungeon” for several excruciating minutes. Likewise, in Trap , Cooper ( Josh Hartnett ) is trapped inside an arena while an unlucky victim remains imprisoned inside his house. Smart move, Shyamalan.

Quick Note: For The Visit , we didn’t start counting the trapped time until the big twist that happens late in the movie. Up until that point, the two kids probably could’ve made a run for it without the “grandparents” knowing about it.

2. The Twist or Revelation Should Occur Late into the Film

• Shyamalan Movies That Feature a Last-Minute Twist or Revelation: 77% Tomatometer Average / $402 Million Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies That Don’t Feature a Last-Minute Twist or Revelation: 40% Tomatometer Average / $155 million Worldwide Box Office Average

Shyamalan’s four highest-grossing thrillers — The Sixth Sense , Signs , Unbreakable , and Split — reveal their twists or revelations on average 92.8% into the film’s running time, and his six Fresh thrillers reveal their twists or revelations 88.7% into their running time. Later is better, and proof of this comes from his five Rotten thrillers, namely Old , The Village , Glass , Lady in the Water , and The Happening , which on average reveal everything at the 70.5% mark.

While most know that it’s the execution of the twist and not the time when it’s revealed that matters, we can’t help but notice an interesting trend with these late reveals. Shyamalan was asked about his twist endings in an interview promoting the Apple+ show Servant , and he said his goal has always been to make sure that “ What you’re left with at the end of the movie should tell you what you saw .”

(Photo by Ron Phillips/©Buena Vista Pictures)

Part of the fun of watching The Sixth Sense or Unbreakable is how you’re forced to reframe the experience in your head after the big reveal. What’s great about the revelation in Signs is not the fact that the aliens are allergic to water, but that everything has meaning, and each choice led to Merrill ( Joaquin Phoenix ) defeating an alien intruder with a baseball bat and some H2O.

The problem with the reveals or twists in The Happening or Old (which are still both highly entertaining in their own ways) is that they don’t force you to reconsider what you just watched. In The Happening , it turns out that plant toxins are killing the populace, and in Old , it all comes down to a pharmaceutical company using a magic beach to run tests on people with medical conditions. They are more “A-ha!” than “Oh, wow, this changes everything!” twists. Also, It’s a shame that the “it takes place in modern times” twist in The Village annoyed so many people, because the film delivers an excellent message on generational trauma that was largely ignored because there were no ill-tempered monsters.

3. Crying Parents Are A Good Thing

(Photo by Frank Masi/©Buena Vista Pictures)

• Shyamalan Movies That Feature Crying Parents: 66% Tomatometer Average / $261 Million Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies That Don’t Feature Crying Parents: 40% Tomatometer Average / $190 million Worldwide Box Office Average

The majority of the conversations around The Sixth Sense are largely focused on the beautiful twist ending and how it’s one of six horror films to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. After watching the movie again, we’re convinced that not enough people are heaping praise on Toni Collette’ s tear-soaked conversation that sees her character, Lynn, going through about 43 different emotions when she learns that her son Cole can see ghosts. Shyamalan wisely decided to keep the camera focused on Collette’s face as she single-handedly increased parental attendance at dance recitals for decades. (Incidentally, Collette would be robbed again years later when her stunning performance in Ari Aster’ s  Hereditary went largely unrecognized.)

Toss in the crying scenes featuring William Hurt ( The Village ), Mel Gibson ( Signs ), Gael Garcia Bernal ( Old ), Kathryn Hahn ( The Visit ), Jonathan Groff ( Knock at the Cabin ), or Robin Wright ( Unbreakable ), and you understand why crying parents are a good idea.

4. Keep It in Philadelphia

• Shyamalan Movies That Mostly Take Place in the Philadelphia Area: 59% Tomatometer Average / $304 Million Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies That Mostly Take Place in Rural Pennsylvania: 54% Tomatometer Average / $196 Million Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies That Mostly Take Place Outside of Pennsylvania: 50% Tomatometer Score / $90 million Worldwide Box Office Average

The Sixth Sense , Unbreakable , The Lady in the Water , Split , and Glass all take place within the greater Philadelphia area, and their worldwide box office haul is a whopping $1.51 billion (you could buy many lifetimes’ worth of WaWa Iced Tea with the money). After some sleuth work, we found out that the S.W.A.T. members in the second trailer for Trap are wearing “Phila. Swat” on their vests, so it’s safe to assume that movie also largely takes place in Philadelphia (despite being filmed in Toronto for financial reasons). This is good news for Shyamalan’s bank account, because only Lady in the Water failed to clear nine digits, and the other four films all made more than $240 million at the worldwide box office. Philadelphia seems to be Shyamalan’s safety net, and after the not-so-great financial returns of Old and Knock at the Cabin , setting Trap in Philadelphia was a good idea.

Of course, Shyamalan has found success outside of Philadelphia, as Signs and The Village took place in rural Pennsylvania and made bank, but his highest-grossing movie is still The Sixth Sense , and it is a wholly Philly affair that collected $673 million worldwide. Trap won’t make that kind of money, but it could be the first Shyamalan movie since 2019’s Glass to clear $100 million.

5. Avoid Angry Plants and End-of-the-World Scenarios

(Photo by Phobymo/©Universal Pictures)

• Shyamalan Movies That Don’t Feature World Ending Attacks or Supernatural Destruction: 57% Tomatometer Average / $245 Million Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies That Do Feature World Ending Attacks or Supernatural Destruction: 53% Tomatometer Average / $208 million Worldwide Box Office Average

Five of Shyamalan’s six highest-grossing films keep their chaos relatively contained, and the end of the world is never really considered. However, if a Shyamalan thriller doesn’t feature massive destruction, it’s worth noting that violence permeates almost every single frame of the film, and Trap looks to continue this trend. The elders of The Village moved to a secluded area because of violence, Dr. Malcolm Crowe is shot and killed in The Sixth Sense , and Charles ( Rufus Sewell ) dies quickly in Old because of the effects of a rusted knife. Toss in the Narfs who are attacked by scrunts in Lady in the Water  and the slaughter of millions by plant toxins and pugnacious aliens in The Happening and Signs , and the world of M. Night Shyamalan is a frightening place.

Between Unbreakable , Split , Glass , The Visit , and Old (the pharmaceutical companies are old hats at killing people), Shyamalan has introduced the world to several memorable murderers like The Beast (James McAvoy), Mr. Glass ( Samuel L. Jackson ), and the Yahtzee-loving duo of Nana ( Deanna Dunagan ) and Pop Pop ( Peter McRobbie ). The most harrowing and cruel (in this writer’s opinion) scene in any Shyamalan film happens in Unbreakable when David Dunn battles the Orange Suit Man ( Chance Kelly ) inside a house of horrors. After realizing his superhero potential, Dunn follows the villain to a suburban house and witnesses him nonchalantly spitting beer onto the corpse of a dead woman — it’s horrible, and it’s easy to understand why Shyamalan wanted to add more humor and optimism to his follow up, Signs .

The darkly comedic The Visit and its psychopathic killers marked Shyamalan’s comeback, and since then, Split , Glass , Old , and Knock at the Cabin have all been predictably and unpredictably violent (the cannibalism in Split was a surprise). The good news for Trap is that the PG-13 rating will help the box office, and after the world-ending shenanigans of Knock at the Cabin  and magic beach brutality of Old , it’s refreshing that Trap seemingly focuses on the exploits of a serial killer with a sense of humor.

6. One-Word Titles Are A Safe Bet

• Shyamalan Movies With One Word Titles: 62% Tomatometer Average / $254 Worldwide Box Office Average
• Shyamalan Movies With More Than One Word in Their Titles: 51% Tomatometer Average / $220 Worldwide Box Office Average

It’s a coincidence, but Knock at the Cabin and Lady in the Water both have four-word titles, and they’re Shyamalan’s two lowest-grossing films. The Sixth Sense is his most famous movie and the title is longer than one word, so there are exceptions, but for him, movies with one-word titles are generally a safe and lucrative bet.

Between Old , Glass , Split , Signs , and Unbreakable , Old is the only film to make less than $240 million worldwide. However, it’s important to remember that it was released in 2021 when the world was starting to come out of the pandemic, and audiences probably weren’t too keen on watching a movie about people stuck somewhere, so the $90 million worldwide haul of Old is still kind of impressive. Four of Shyamalan’s six highest-grossing movies boast one-word titles, and Unbreakable , Signs , and Split make up three of Shyamalan’s four films whose Tomatometer scores sit at 70% or higher.

Based on the above data, it would take a major twist for Trap to fail with critics and audiences. But there’s one more thing Trap has going for it.

(Photo by Sabrina Lantos/©Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)

M. Night Shyamalan wrote and sold The Sixth Sense to Disney to get out of his contract with the Weinsteins. To win back fans after the beautifully dour Unbreakable , Shyamalan directed the crowd-pleasing Signs . After a string of misfires, he self-funded The Visit and reclaimed some of his former glory. In other words, never count M. Night out.

After the mildly profitable Old and Knock at the Cabin , Shyamalan seems to be back in PG-13 “fun mode” with Trap . It doesn’t check every box on our list, and we don’t yet know how things will shake out on the Tomatometer, but M. Night is nothing if not resilient. No matter what happens with Trap , it certainly won’t be the last we see of him, and who knows? Maybe next time he’ll fully embrace the numbers and make a high-concept thriller with a one-word title about a character in Philadelphia with crying parents who remains trapped for 80% of the film before a third-act revelation introduces an actor who appeared in Lucky Number Slevin . Sounds like a winner to us.

Trap (2024) opens in theaters on Friday, August 2, 2024 .

What do you love about M. Night Shyamalan films? Tell us in the comments.

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5 movies leaving Netflix in August with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

Our picks are everything (everywhere)

It's incredibly frustrating when you search for you favorite movies on the best streaming services only to find that it has been removed without your knowledge. That's where we come in, and after publishing the list of everything leaving Netflix in August 2024 , we've noticed that there are some cracker movies in the mix of departing titles – most of them with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.

There's no hiding that we love a good movie that's highly rated by critics and audiences alike – just look at our best Netflix movies picks – so it's a shame to see these five movies leaving the platform next month. The list includes two family-friendly favorites, a classic superhero action flick, a comedy crime caper with a stellar ensemble cast, and an action-drama that was a star in the 2023 Oscars . 

There's still plenty of time to catch each movie before it goes, but like we say each month, it's best to get on it sooner rather than leaving it too late and regretting it, especially looking at all the new titles to watch in everything new on Netflix in August , which includes these three movies with 91% and higher on Rotten Tomatoes . 

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) 

RT Score:  93% Age rating:  R Length:  132 minutes Director:  Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert Leaving on:  August 22

Kwan and Scheinert delivered the multiverse movie we'd been longing for years when it release Everything Everywhere All At Once , and it was an immediate smash hit, getting a score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to snatching seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Michelle Yeoh is captivating as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who is exhausted at work while trying to navigate her complicated relationship with her queer daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Her life is then flipped upside-down when she is caught in a journey across different universes, encountering the different lives and destinies she could've led. 

Available to stream now on Netflix in the US and Australia. 

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (2021)

RT Score:  98% Age rating:  PG Length:  89 minutes Director:  Dean Fleischer-Camp Leaving on:  August 23

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A24 movies are great choices if you're looking for multi-genre titles, and Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is a wholesome story that's fit to be included in our picks of the best family movies . Following the events of a mysterious tragedy, Marcel and his grandmother live together alone among the clutter of an AirBnb. The arrival of a documentary filmmaker changes the course of Marcel's life as he becomes the star of a short film, which garners millions of views online, giving Marcel the chance to finally reunite with his long-lost family. 

Available to stream now on Netflix in the US and Paramount Plus in Australia. 

American Hustle (2013) 

RT Score:  92% Age rating:  R Length:  138 minutes Director:  David O. Russell Leaving on:  August 31

Russell's black comedy crime feature is carried by its ensemble cast of Hollywood's biggest stars including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. Inspired by the Abscam case in the 1970s, conman Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are caught by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper). The two felons are then recruited for under cover work as part of a plan to corrupt the mayor of New Jersey (Jeremy Renner). Among the chaos of DiMaso's plan, there's Rosenfeld's wife Rosalyn (Lawrence) whose unpredictable nature could be the reason the operation comes to a crashing and burning end. 

Paddington (2014)

RT Score:  97% Age rating:  PG Length:  95 minutes Director:  Paul King Leaving on:  August 13

The legendary British icon Paddington Bear comes to life in King's wholesome live-action adaptation, Paddington , which the whole family can enjoy. When an earthquake hits a Peruvian rainforest and destroys his home, a bear (Ben Whishaw) embarks on a journey to London to search for a new home. When he arrives, he meets Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary (Sally Hawkins), and is adopted into their family unit, where he is named Paddington – after the London train station. Life with his new family seems uncomplicated at first, until he realises that taxidermist Millicent (Nicole Kidman) has her eyes on him. 

Available to stream now on Netflix in the US, UK and Prime Video in Australia. 

Spider-Man (2002)

RT Score:  90% Age rating:  PG-13 Length:  116 minutes Director:  Sam Raimi Leaving on:  August 31

Raimi's take on Stan Lee's infamous Spider-Man comics is still a favorite among Marvel fans today, sitting at a brilliant 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. After being bitten by a genetically-modified spider, high school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) develops strength unknown to human kind giving him spider-like abilities. As Spider-Man, Parker gains notoriety among the people of New York City becoming the city's hero, but as his uncle Ben taught him: "with great power comes great responsibility", which is a lesson he comes to understand as his heroic reputation grows. It was one of three familiar movie franchises that joined Netflix in June so it's a shame to see if leaving already.  

Available to stream now on Netflix in the US, UK and Binge in Australia. 

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Rowan is an Editorial Associate and Apprentice Writer for TechRadar. A recent addition to the news team, he is involved in generating stories for topics that spread across TechRadar's categories. His interests in audio tech and knowledge in entertainment culture help bring the latest updates in tech news to our readers. 

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The Ghost Writer (2010)

• User Reviews
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• badly cast characters: none of the characters really worked in my opinion (bad British accents - and social class counts - and the class of these characters doesn't fit with their roles and education, strange decisions and actions by the characters - that anti-war protester was just farcical) - convoluted storyline : why the 'too easy to find' clues, how did the car outrun the CIA car? why was the main character allowed to live to the end? - product placement: just cheesy, giving Google, BMW and Sky News blatant product placement like this - missed opportunities: it would have made more sense for the Emmett character (or even the Rycroft guy) to have organised the killing of 'Blair' - instead we are left with a rather ridiculous anti-war protester shooting him (and how on earth did he get onto the roof of a airport with a gun)

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The Ghost Writer

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

In the craptacular month of February, when Hollywood typically drowns us in all-star drool like Valentine’s Day , it’s indecent luck having two films in play directed by indisputable masters. First Scorsese’s Shutter Island , and now Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer . The Polish director, currently under house arrest in Switzerland awaiting possible extradition to the U.S. for having unlawful sex with a minor in 1977, is in deep doo-doo. But not, in this critic’s view, as a filmmaker. The Ghost Writer , based on the Robert Harris bestseller, shows Polanski in brilliant command of a political thriller that ties you up in knots of tension while zinging politics and showbiz like two sides of the same toxic coin.

Polanski, who won a 2002 Oscar for the Holocaust-themed The Pianist , is in a playful, prickly mood here that recalls his early work on Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown . Ewan McGregor grabs and runs with his juiciest role in years as the Ghost, a writer hired to pen the memoirs of Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), the unseated British prime minister now taking refuge in America after being accused of war crimes back home. Any resemblance between Lang and Tony Blair seems purely intentional, since Harris, who wrote the script with Polanski, is on the record as becoming disillusioned with Blair after the PM allegedly teamed up with President Bush to hand over suspected terrorists for torture by the CIA. One reviewer of Harris’ book cheekily labeled it The Blair Snitch Project .

Like Polanski, Lang is in exile. The former PM is holed up in a Cape Cod beach house with his manipulative wife (Olivia Williams) and an executive assistant (Kim Cattrall) who doubles as his mistress. Don’t be thrown by the Sex and the City star’s Brit accent – she was born in Liverpool. And it’s fun to see Cattrall play covert sexuality for a change of Samantha pace.

The Ghost knows he’s in over his head. His specialty is ghosting for rock stars and other celebs du trash. There’s another chilling detail: The writer who started the book with Lang has been found dead under mysterious circumstances.

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Since Polanski couldn’t travel outside certain legal jurisdictions, he used Berlin for London and the island of Sylt in the North Sea to fill in for Martha’s Vineyard. But the kick in this sexy, addictive thriller comes in the telling. As the media swarm outside Lang’s beach house, everyone inside feels a trap closing in. No one but Polanski could find the adrenaline rush in such maddening claustrophobia. There are moments when you damn near jump out of your seat as the Ghost snoops around looking for incriminating truth and a chance to have it off with the wife of his subject.

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All credit to a finely tuned Bros­nan for packing so much intensity and wayward wit into his scenes with McGregor. Their verbal duels make for a dazzling game of cat-and-mouse.

Polanski’s skill with actors hasn’t waned. Even the smallest roles are expertly played. Timothy Hutton scores as Lang’s American lawyer, and Jim Belushi nails the role of the Ghost’s scandal-hungry publisher. Best of all is Tom Wilkinson as Paul Emmet, a Harvard law professor whom the Ghost believes holds the key to Lang’s links with the CIA. After an action-packed pursuit of the Ghost on a ferry, the movie ends on a note of shocking challenge. You can feel Polanski’s excitement to be working on a film that echoes 1970s classics such as Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View . Whatever happens to Polanski in real life, his reel life is in excellent shape. The Ghost Writer is one of his diabolical best.

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7 new to Hulu movies with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes

These top movies just landed on Hulu, and they're worth watching

Scrolling through the endless options on some of the best streaming platforms can be really frustrating (don’t worry, I get it), but Hulu’s latest additions make it easier with a lineup of critically acclaimed movies. So, if you fancy watching a great movie this evening or at the weekend when you want to sit back and relax, we've got you covered.

Rotten Tomatoes is a useful tool when choosing a handful of quality content. From horror movies that will leave a chill on your skin to action thrillers in space, these specific movies have been praised by critics and are sure to offer something special for every viewer. Without further ado, here are seven movies that are new to Hulu that have all garnered a 90% or higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  

"Get Out" has to be one of the best horror movies ever. It follows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a young African American man who visits the family estate of his white girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Williams). Initially, Chris is concerned about how Rose's parents will react to their interracial relationship, but he soon discovers that the family's seemingly friendly and accommodating behavior hides a dark secret. 

As Chris uncovers disturbing truths about the Armitages and their community, he finds himself trapped in a terrifying situation. It’s a critically acclaimed movie that takes on themes of racism and social justice while including suspense, psychological horror, and sharp social commentary. 

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98% Watch on Hulu now

"Aliens" is in my top five favorite movies of all time, so I had to include it in this list. The story picks up 57 years after the events of the first movie “Alien”, with Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) being rescued from deep space and debriefed about her previous encounter with the deadly extraterrestrial species known as the Xenomorph.

When contact is lost with a human colony on the moon LV-426, where Ripley's crew had first encountered the alien creature, Ripley is persuaded to join a team of Colonial Marines sent to investigate. Upon arrival, they discover the colony has been overrun by a horde of vicious aliens. Ripley also forms a bond with a young girl named Newt (Carrie Henn), the sole survivor of the colony, and together they must survive as they escape from the relentless alien threat. You're in for one hell of a ride when you watch this classic sci-fi horror.

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'Hail Satan?'

This documentary explores the rise and activities of the Satanic Temple, a controversial and often misunderstood religious and political activist group. Contrary to common misconceptions, the members of the Satanic Temple do not actually worship Satan. Instead, they use Satanic imagery and rhetoric to advocate for the separation of church and state, religious freedom and social justice. The documentary delves into the group's provocative campaigns, such as advocating for the installation of a statue of Baphomet next to the Ten Commandments monuments on public grounds, highlighting issues of religious equality and free expression.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96% Watch on Hulu now

'The Salt of the Earth' 

"The Salt of the Earth" chronicles the life and work of the renowned Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, who has spent over four decades documenting deprived societies in hidden corners of the world. This documentary delves into Salgado's extensive photographic projects, including his work on global conflicts, famines, and mass migrations, capturing the suffering and resilience of humanity.

It also takes you through his personal journey and transformation, particularly how his experience witnessing such immense suffering led him to co-found the Instituto Terra, an environmental project aimed at reforesting a portion of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94% Watch on Hulu now

'Ford v Ferrari'

"Ford v Ferrari" is based on the true story of the rivalry between the American automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company and the Italian sports car maker Ferrari during the 1960s. It focuses on the efforts of automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to build a revolutionary race car for Ford.

The story centers around Ford's ambitious goal to defeat Ferrari, which had dominated the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race for years. Despite numerous challenges, including corporate interference and technical setbacks, Shelby and Miles work to create the Ford GT40, a car capable of taking on Ferrari's superior machines. 

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92% Watch on Hulu now

'The Monk and the Gun'

"The Monk and the Gun” is set in Bhutan during 2006. The movie aims to explore the clash between tradition and modernity in a remote Himalayan village. This particular story centers on a Buddhist monk and the impact of the country's first democratic elections. An American travels into Bhutan searching for a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with the monk in the mountains, who has been instructed by his teacher to “make things right.” What’s interesting about this drama is that it juxtaposes the monk's spiritual journey with the arrival of democracy, which brings focus to the tension and cultural changes brought about by this historical moment.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93% Watch on Hulu now  

'13 Assassins'

The critically acclimated action-thriller “13 Assassins” should be your next watch if you enjoy intense fighting sequences. This Japanese samurai movie is set in the waning years of the Edo period. It follows a group of 13 samurai who come together to assassinate the sadistic and ruthless Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira (Goro Inagaki), the brother of the shogun. Naritsugu's brutal and tyrannical behavior threatens to throw the country into chaos. The leader of the assassins, Shinzaemon Shimada (Kōji Yakusho), devises a plan to ambush Naritsugu and his entourage in a remote village. “13 Assassins” builds to an intense and prolonged battle sequence containing instances of honor, sacrifice and the samurai code.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95% Watch on Hulu now

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Alix is a Streaming Writer at Tom’s Guide, which basically means watching the best movies and TV shows and then writing about them. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer for Screen Rant and Bough Digital, both of which sparked her interest in the entertainment industry. When she’s not writing about the latest movies and TV shows, she’s either playing horror video games on her PC or working on her first novel.

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The Ghost Writer

Review by brian eggert march 10, 2010.

There’s a scene in Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer where former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, played by Pierce Brosnan, has just received some troubling news about being accused of war crimes. Lang is on his cell outside, shouting and swearing at the person on the other end. Our hero, Lang’s nondescript Ghost Writer, watches the call progress through the window. The tension is extremely high and it’s the first time the audience sees Lang as perhaps a dangerous person. Meanwhile, in the frame just behind Lang is a house attendant desperately trying to sweep up leaves and sticks in a violent coastal wind. Every time the wheel barrel fills up, the wind blows its contents away. The audience forgets about Lang’s life-and-death call for a moment to notice this funny, unimportant man struggling to do his remedial job.

Comedy and fear almost never work well together in a thriller, except where Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski are concerned. That’s why they’re masters who time and again find new ways to entertain us using the same old stories. Polanski’s film is an expert thriller, not-so-plain and not-so-simple. The film is smart and comical and gripping all at once. It simultaneously employs the usual tricks of the thriller genre while defying them with a wry sense of wit about how the story is told. There are no guns or explosions, there’s one very ambiguous chase sequence, and the roots of the film are just suspicion and fear and suspense. A sense of danger radiates from the screen and it’s incredibly involving. That it was made by an infamous director should make no difference to you, unless it drives you to see the film. Don’t let the questionable shenanigans of one man prevent you from seeing one of the year’s best films.

Ewan McGregor plays a ghost writer of memoirs; when hired he writes the life story of his client for a fee and allows them to take the credit. And given his trade, he bears the risk of having no identity of his own. And yet, in one of his best performances, McGregor makes the character a rather pleasant Hitchcockian everyman, one with no name or past in the film other than his position. He’s commissioned by the staff of Brosnan’s Lang, a Tony Blair-esque figure both charming and diabolical, to complete a much-anticipated autobiography in a matter of weeks. The Ghost Writer, as he’s known, is flown out to an island off the coast of New England to complete the text. Almost immediately thereafter, it’s announced that Lang is under investigation by a war crimes tribunal for possibly ordering the torture of terrorism suspects. The attention in the press only makes the Ghost Writer’s job juicier and more profitable, but his post suddenly becomes dangerous when he learns he wasn’t the first ghostwriter and the previous one may have been murdered.

Audiences familiar with Polanski’s thrillers know that his films are all about the often comedic details, and how these details work to enhance the impact of the suspense by forcing the audience to let their guard down. In Rosemary’s Baby , the silliness of the elderly neighbors the Castevets becomes even more twisted when it’s revealed that they’re Satanists. In The Tenant , we laugh one moment at the sudden cross-dressing and obligation to social niceties, then gasp in another moment when there’s a human tooth found in the wall. And certainly, that star Jack Nicholson went through the majority of Chinatown with an awkward bandage on his nose was meant to make the audience laugh, which only intensifies our sympathy for the otherwise serious film noir character.

While working in standard conventions, Polanski usurps the norm with his own flourishes to give his characters life and the scenario edge. He does this wonderfully in The Ghost Writer by admitting to the audience that the characters have obligatory thriller roles that they must follow. But the way Polanski presents these roles gives them their dynamic because he doesn’t try to disguise them. Consider a scene where Lang’s troubled wife (Olivia Williams) comes into the Ghost Writer’s bedroom one night. Lang is away on business and she’s been crying in the rain, so she’s robed and her hair is wet. The writer gets up to get Lang’s wife a towel from the bathroom. He looks in the mirror and says, “Bad idea,” which is just what the audience was thinking. When he returns, she’s naked in his bed to warm up. As if pulled by the conventions of storytelling, the writer casually walks to the bed, drops his robe, and gets in. They lay there for a moment, both naked, knowing what their characters are supposed to do, and then they do it. It had to happen. By the final scene, which is utterly perfect, the audience realizes the entire production is an exercise in the manipulation of conventions, and the joke’s on us.

The director’s personal life has unfortunately affected the film, and not only to the point of driving some self-righteous moviegoers away. First, there’s the curious parallel provided by the plot: a Ghost Writer must complete a crucial project on veritable house arrest while his client fears extradition. Polanski all but completed the final cut of the film before being detained in Switzerland in September 2009 for his outstanding warrant, but he put on the finishing touches via laptop while on house arrest awaiting extradition. How foretelling. The film’s editing and structure don’t suffer at all from his detainment; it looks wonderful. But because the distributors at Summit Entertainment feared Polanski’s reputation would hurt the film’s release, to earn a more audience-friendly PG-13 rating audio looping covers derivations of the word “fuck” and replaces them with “bugger” and “frickin’” and so forth. The result is occasionally and momentarily distracting, though most audiences won’t even notice it. It’s a minor quibble, but a likely result of Polanski’s recent media attention nonetheless.

The Ghost Writer is a subtle and elegant thriller, a work that demonstrates a 76-year-old master who after 50 years of filmmaking remains in full control of his artistic faculty. Polanski had his share of rough spots in the 1980s and ‘90s, but he’s returned with his best film in decades. So forget the director if it’s a problem for you. This is a brilliant, paranoid, anxiety-ridden film free of gimmicks and wrought with suspense, not to mention the blackest of black comedy. It’s an achievement in atmosphere and dread, while it also wields a tight plot and superb performances from its cast. When it’s become increasingly difficult to find anything worthwhile in the genre of late, that Polanski has landed such an intelligent contemporary thriller using classic motifs proves extraordinarily satisfying, and a testament to his status as one of the greatest living directors.

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Batman: Caped Crusader: Release Date, Cast & Everything We Know

Who voices batman in caped crusader & how he compares to kevin conroy, batman: caped crusader season 1 ending explained.

• Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 is confirmed by Prime Video, and is currently in production.
• The positive response to season 1, with praise for the unique setting & characters, bodes will for the show.
• Future seasons will deepen Batman's exploration of the hero's noir roots and expand on its DC canon.

Batman: Caped Crusader is available on Prime Video August 1, 2024, and the DC series is already developing a second season. The show was first announced in May 2021 at a WarnerMedia Upfront event, featuring executive producers Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and The Batman director Matt Reeves. Caped Crusader has an excellent cast of characters and draws from the influence of the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series but with a darker tone and a period setting. Following a near cancellation by Max, the program was eventually seen through development by Prime Video.

The response to season 1 has been mostly positive, with an excellent Rotten Tomatoes score. Early reviews for Batman: Caped Crusader praised the unique, pulp setting and the exploration of supporting characters. The studio has confirmed season 2, which is well into production. Producers Abrams and Reeves said in a joint statement when the series was first announced that “ [t]he series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters.” This has proven true so far and will likely continue in season 2.

Batman: Caped Crusader reimagines The Dark Knight’s history. Here is everything known about the series, including cast, story, and release date.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Is Confirmed

The streaming giant prime video placed an order for season 2 in early 2023.

Per THR , a two-season order was placed upon Prime Video's acquisition of the DC series. The 10-episode first season releases August 1, 2024 , and few details have been provided concerning the streaming series’ return. The season has been in the works for some time, however, and the continuation of the DC series appears to be important to Prime Video. Notably, this series is independent from the new DC Universe at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Following trends of the previous season, it appears the writing process of season 1 began in January 2022 before releasing two-and-a-half years later. This gap will likely be smaller considering how much of the show's design has already been completed. Considering the trajectory of DC animation's releases in the past, it is likely that the series is aiming for a season 2 return in late summer or fall of 2025. This could, however, be pushed to as far back as 2026.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Production Status

Season 2 of the prime video series is well into production.

Upon acquisition by Prime Video, THR reported that the streamer placed a two-season order for the series. As the first season was already deep into development, adding extra episodes to the order is a testament to the belief the studio has in the animated series. Little information on the series’ return has yet been released. However, production has already quietly begun on season 2 . Some changes to the production team will be made for the show's eventual return.

Writer J.M. DeMatteis's summer 2024 newsletter said that he had just finished work on a season 2 episode of Batman: Caped Crusader . This follows the departure of season 1's head writer, Ed Brubaker. DeMatteis has written for several Marvel and DC comics over the years, and has worked on series including Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Unlimited . Following this, the series may be looking to bring in more voices and to lean into the anthologizing of Batman storytelling. This might make sense, as the standalone episodes in season 1 were among the most lauded.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Cast

Many performers from season 1 are likely to return to the dc series.

The cast for Batman: Caped Crusader has been slowly revealed and features several great performers, including Hamish Linklater providing the voice for Bruce Wayne/Batman . The Midnight Mass actor appears to approach the role with a rough energy still reminiscent of the Kevin Conroy version of the character. Despite this, the Manhunt actor seems to put a gruff, Christian Bale-like spin on the role that will surely continue to evolve as the series progresses.

The remaining cast may change based on plot details that have not yet been shared. However, following season 1's events, Christina Ricci will likely return as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The new iteration of this character has been unique and exciting. The Sleepy Hollow star is well-suited to the role and has brought much of the charisma she has shown in the films Casper and Speed Racer to this unique iteration of the villain.

Other than this, Jason Watkins as Alfred Pennyworth and Eric Morgan Stuart as Commissioner Gordon are sure to return. Watkins has been a dramatic performer on stage and screen for decades and is well known for his lead role in McDonald & Dodds and for his appearance on The Crown . Stuart has done voice-acting on series like Harley Quinn and has appeared in films including Reality Bites .

Villains like Tom Kenny's Firebug were lauded in season 1 and seem likely to return in future episodes. Batman series have generally featured antagonists throughout their run, with many returning frequently. Kenny is best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants. Still, the actor has been prolific in the industry, providing voices for series like Adventure Time, Rick and Morty , and Futurama .

Other performers will certainly be added to the cast, while others will likely not return. Following the introduction of Batman's unique rogues gallery in season 1, it is likely that season 2 will continue to introduce new iterations of popular Batman villains. A spin on Mr. Freeze could be excellent in the series, and the addition of a new Joker seems inevitable in any Batman show . Following the cast announcements for season 1, details are not likely to be shared until much closer to the season 2 release.

Batman: Caped Crusader is promising to be an exciting new start for The Dark Knight, with a brand new actor cast as the voice of the titular hero.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Plot Details

The series will continue its thoughtful development and expansion of the dc universe.

Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 will continue to expand the world of Gotham when the animated series returns. The exploration of Batman's darkness as well as his noir roots has been formative for the series, which will be expanded on when it returns. The implications of the hero's existence and influence on his rogues gallery has been important to Caped Crusader 's storytelling. The official synopsis for the series reads:

Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human — the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.

Batman series have tended to grow more expansive as they run along, and this is sure to be the case for Caped Crusader . Drawing inspiration from the early comics, as well as from Batman: The Animated Series, future seasons will surely introduce additional characters from the DC canon . Following the reinvention of these heroes, the appeal of seeing new spins on the Bat Family and additional iconic villains is exciting.

The future of Caped Crusader is bright and promising, with a trajectory that seems likely to follow that of Batman: The Animated Series . The tone of the series makes it feel unique as a standalone series. Audiences should not anticipate potential spinoffs like a 1960s-set retro-futuristic Batman Beyond or a 1930s-set Justice League anytime soon, although many promising elements of season 1 will indeed develop and grow. Batman: Caped Crusader is off to a promising start that will only be built on in future seasons.

Batman: Caped Crusader (2024)

Wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne, transformed by tragedy, takes on the mantle of Batman to combat the rampant corruption and crime in Gotham City. His vigilante actions attract both allies within the GCPD and City Hall and deadly adversaries, leading to unforeseen consequences. The series delves into the noir roots of Batman, exploring the psychological depths of Gotham's inhabitants.

'Shelby Oaks' review: Hints of 'The Blair Witch Project,' 'Lake Mungo,' and 'Barbarian'

Can a great horror movie be Frankensteined together from a laundry list of iconic ones? That's what I'm left pondering after watching Shelby Oaks , the promising and oft unnerving but also somewhat scattered first feature from popular YouTube movie reviewer Chris Stuckmann.

The movie starts out convincing you it's one thing, but reveals itself in quick succession to be a very different beast altogether. From The Blair Witch Project to Martyrs to Barbarian and several beyond that, Shelby Oaks doesn't just wear its many genre influences on its sleeves — it wears them on its chest and back and shoulders. It's a coat of many horror movies, made of cuts deep and broad. And, to ever so slightly belabor the metaphor, some of the coat fits just right, while as much of it could use some more refined tailoring. 

Still, as far as Kickstarter-funded first features go, Shelby Oaks is a big, bold swing — albeit one produced by horror honcho Mike Flanagan, the man behind a swath of Netflix horror miniseries like The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher . It's twisty as hell, bears some ace performances, and truly gifts audiences with some very sticky and very spooky images. Most of all, it marks the emergence of a horror filmmaker worth keeping an eye on. 

Shelby Oaks blends The Blair Witch Project with Lake Mungo — and that's just the start.

"Who took Riley Brennan?" is the question at the heart of Shelby Oaks. The film opens with the last known bit of footage of Riley Brennan (Sarah Durn), YouTuber/ghost hunter, before she went missing in the titular town. In the scene, she sits on a bed in a cabin in the middle of the woods. She's seen sobbing, absolutely terrified, saying into the camera, "I'm so scared."

It's an inch-long leap from Riley's tearful lament to Heather Donahue's legendarily snotty apologia in The Blair Witch Project, the one that poetically stated, "I'm scared to close my eyes, and I'm scared to open them."

Writer-director Stuckmann anticipates his horror-loving audience will make this connection. But then he does something really interesting, pivoting from the found-footage conceit to a true-crime documentary framework. Leaping to a decade or so after Riley's disappearance, it turns out that Riley's older sister, Mia (Camille Sullivan), has spent the intervening years fruitlessly searching for the truth of what happened in the woods of Shelby Oaks that night. And she's now starring in a true-crime documentary in an effort to reignite interest in the case of her missing sister.  

For horror fanatics, this turn might well recall Lake Mungo . Told via talking-head interviews with the family of the missing blonde girl at its center, the 2008 Australian horror film unfurls its paranormal revelations piecemeal through conversations and scattered bits of phone video. Lake Mungo is admittedly a deeper cut than The Blair Witch Project, but no sooner does Shelby Oaks settle into this faux-documentary conceit than Stuckmann pivots again to a straightforward narrative film. Well, it's as straightforward as the twisty likes of Hereditary or Barbarian.

Essentially, Shelby Oaks maintains its cast, but ditches the documentary framework altogether, showing us what is "really" happening — but through artifice, forcing us to question what is real. The camerawork becomes stylized, with special effects and slow motion and close-ups; an aggressive and manipulative score takes over. The film will shift from these narrative scenes to the documentary setup to found footage and back again, maximizing this sense of narrative disquiet.  

These structural sleights of hands, like all good and proper rug-pullings, are where Shelby Oaks works its greatest magic. Playing on the expectations of horror diehards, Stuckmann manages to keep us on our toes, even discombobulated. We find ourselves switching between missing-person found footage to the cult horror of Hereditary with the twists and turns (and hidden underground caverns) of Martyrs and Barbarian , and then right back to a talking-head true-crime doc on a dime. This all builds up its own sort of disassociation within the experience of watching it. 

Shelby Oaks is a hodgepodge of horror, from found footage to Satanic panic.

Despite these daring shifts, Shelby Oaks begins to feel more like the parts of its sum and not vice versa. Stuckmann is motioning toward all of these other movies to unmoor us, but those references often distract from the actual plot and, in turn, undermine our investment in it. For instance, the casting of Brendan Sexton III as Mia's husband proves distracting, even though he's terrific. An actor who's been killing it since Todd Solondz's 1995 hit, Welcome to the Dollhouse , Sexton turns in yet another lovely, sad piece of work here. But you set him against multiple scenes that take place inside of a haunted prison, and now all I'm thinking about is Session 9 , Brad Anderson's fantastically creepy 2001 haunted prison movie, where Sexton made a mark as one of the asbestos cleaners who found himself on the wrong end of some rusty psychiatric equipment.

To what end is this? At what point do these Easter eggs overwhelm? All these allusions ultimately get in the way of Shelby Oaks standing on its own and becoming truly, deeply scary. Stuckmann seems very aware of the exact moment when his scares are supposed to land, often to the point of self-consciousness. You could set a timer to when the thing you're supposed to be dreading will appear, and the dreaded thing will stick that mark every time. There are moments when a zag would've kicked the ass of a zig, but Stuckmann keeps on zigging, playing right into horror connoisseur expectations. There is real, earned tension, but the film keeps deflating itself despite the fun of its reality-shifting and the many excellent go-for-broke performances therein. 

Camille Sullivan leads a cast that fights valiantly for Shelby Oaks. 

An actor who's been nipping at the edges of recognition for two decades, appearing in TV shows from Dark Angel to The Man in the High Castle , Camille Sullivan has long proven a reliable performer. And here at last she is given the spotlight to make the most of it. 

Even when Mia starts doing incredibly stupid things that put her right in harm's way, Sullivan is genuinely devastating. She sells the hell out of bad choices, making it clear that Mia's a person who would go to any lengths to uncover what happened to her beloved sister. (And as long as we're talking references, besides this being the lead's arc in that French Extremity classic Martyrs, it's straight out of the terrifying 1988 Dutch thriller The Vanishing , too.) 

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Sullivan nails big action moments, like emotional blowups and freak-outs in which her palpable fright is legitimately difficult to look at. But even the small moments give her opportunities to send shivers. Just watch the way the flashlight trembles in her hand as she investigates that haunted prison, a subtle shift in body language that communicates a bone-deep terror. It's those touches that carry the audience alongside Mia the entire way. 

Sarah Durn is also haunting as missing girl Riley, who has to sell her undoing while staring off into space during the "naturalistic" found-footage portions of this movie. These are scenes we keep coming back to to see more of as, natch, more footage gets found, and her haunted presence diffuses into every corner of the film. As we know from decades of subpar found-footage movies, it's not easy, this high-wire balancing act of giving a relaxed and unprofessional-seeming performance under those constraints. Loads have failed spectacularly. But Durn makes us understand why her sister won't let her go even as everyone else has long given up. She makes Riley our ghost, too.

The whole ensemble expertly submerges into the multiple realities of this story. Even if Stuckmann needs to get a little bit out of his own way in some other areas, he proves to be terrific with his performers. Sullivan and Sexton share some very moving moments together as they watch their marriage crumble in the face of tragedy. Michael Beach wears a bone-deep exhaustion in his performance as the main detective on the case, giving a lived-in sense of resignation at the system's endless failures. And Keith David (the deep-voiced legend from The Thing and They Live , among many) shows up to Keith David it out of the park, playing the former warden of that haunted prison who has seen some shit and who, in typical fashion, is going to colorfully monologue to you all about it. 

But best of all is the great and notoriously underused Robin Bartlett. One of those stalwart character actors with decades of stealing scenes under their belts (she's been doing it since Heaven's Gate in 1980, but I always first think of her hilarious scenes around the dinner table in Inside Llewyn Davis whenever I see her), Bartlett shows up and gives the movie a last-act goose that takes it over the edge into true unhinged horror-movie delight. More I cannot and will not spoil, except to say that yes, this is how you give Robin Bartlett her due. She ends up stealing — and in so doing, making — the entire movie.

Playing like a post-post-modern pastiche, an ouroboros of antecedents, and sometimes just a wicked walk through a nightmare wasteland, Shelby Oaks has enough gas in its tank for 10 movies. That it sometimes feels like 10 movies we've seen before is both part of its weird ballsy charm and its scrappy undoing. In the end, Shelby Oaks is a battle between Stuckmann's many, many inspirations. But the gripping performances and big swings in style make for a movie worth its runtime. Despite its faults, the directorial debut should prove a hell of a calling card for Chris Stuckmann as a new voice in horror. I can't wait to see what he delivers to us next.

Shelby Oaks was reviewed out of the Fantasia International Film Festival.

Topics Film

Jason Adams is a freelance entertainment writer at Mashable. He lives in New York City and is a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic who also writes for Pajiba, The Film Experience, AwardsWatch, and his own personal site My New Plaid Pants. He's extensively covered several film festivals including Sundance, Toronto, New York, SXSW, Fantasia, and Tribeca. He's a member of the LGBTQ critics guild GALECA. He loves slasher movies and Fassbinder and you can follow him on Twitter at @JAMNPP.

'A Ghost Story' Ending Explained: What Was Written On the Note?

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The Big Picture

• David Lowery's A Ghost Story explores heavy themes of existentialism and loss across infinite time.
• The film follows a white-sheeted ghost haunting his wife and delves into the futility of human legacy.
• Through a time loop, the movie reflects on immortality through memories and legacy's enduring impact.

Legacy is something David Lowery knows a thing or two about. He's well into crafting his own, having written and directed The Green Knight , Pete's Dragon , Ain't Them Bodies Saints , The Old Man & the Gun and the focus of this piece — A Ghost Story . Given the title, you'd be forgiven for mistaking A Ghost Story for a schlocky horror. Make no mistake though — it will haunt you. A unique exploration of existentialism and loss across infinite time, the film meditates on heavy themes, giving little away. The viewer must work for every morsel of information received, and form their own views on the meaning of what is given. We aren't even told the names of the characters — we know them simply as M and C.

When we meet M ( Rooney Mara ) and C ( Casey Affleck ) they are a happy couple moving into a new house. Soon we see the happiness fade and the couple argues over whether or not to move out of the house. M, who has moved around a lot as a child, wants to leave but C wants to stay, citing the house's history as the reason he likes it so much. C finally agrees to leave, and then the couple hear a loud clang from the piano. After searching and finding nothing they return to bed. Before they move out, C is killed in a car accident. M visits him in the morgue and covers him with a sheet. He rises as a ghost, still covered in the sheet. After turning away from a bright light he finds his way back to their house and remains there, haunting M, until she decides to leave. We are not sure how long this is, as time is no longer a concept C is bound to now that he has passed away.

A Ghost Story

In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife.

How Does 'A Ghost Story' End?

While prepping the house for sale, M writes a note, leaves it in a crack , then paints over it. M has already discussed that she used to do this when she moved houses as a child, placing notes containing little things she wanted to remember around so that when she went back, there would be a little piece of her waiting. C watches her go, but chooses to stay behind. By the time he gets around to looking for the note, another family have moved in. C then becomes much more like the ghosts we expected back when we thought this was a horror movie . Angered by the world moving on from him, he throws plates, flickers lights, and frightens the family into moving out.

Time starts to pass quicker now. Guests come and go from the house, and C keeps trying to pry the note from the crack. We only linger when one resident throws a party and a guest begins to deliberate on the futility of human legacy. What can humans do to ensure they are remembered beyond their short time on this plane of existence? Time will pass beyond anything a human can create, no matter how great — including time itself. Years drift on and the house is left in ruin. It is knocked down and replaced by a skyscraper. C attempts to leave this mortal coil and jumps off, only to find himself hurtling through time back to when the first stake was put in the ground by the original settlers. Centuries pass until C finds himself back in the house with M and his mortal self.

10 Great Movies Recommended by David Lowery

Is it a surprise that the director behind 'The Green Knight' has excellent taste in movies?

So we discover he is in a time loop. The history he felt the house had that he couldn't leave was his own ghostly presence haunting the couple. Eventually, realizing the mortal C's death is imminent, ghost C collapses in a heap upon the piano, causing the noise that we saw at the beginning of the film. C dies again, and ghost C watches as his younger ghostly self arrives again. Infinite loops are possible which begs the question, will C ever be able to leave this place? He witnesses M leave the note again, but this time instead of watching her go, he immediately fishes out the note before the paint dries. He reads it and immediately vanishes, breaking out of the time loop, leaving only the sheet behind.

The Deeper Meaning Behind 'A Ghost Story's Ending

Ernest Hemingway said "Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground, and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal." This sentiment is echoed in A Ghost Story . We are kept alive in the memories of those who knew us and cared for us. The note keeps C alive beyond the passing of M, the memory of them embedded in the frame of the house . He is tied to this exact location in a physical way as well as a meta-physical way through the memories he created there. The cyclical nature of time means the ripples of grief and recollection echo throughout a longer period than the brief time a person is on the mortal coil.

But what is written on the note? We never see. Theories abound that it was the lyrics to the song C composed, a personal reminder of their love for each other, or possibly even a note saying she wouldn't be back. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. The content of the note was never needed to create an impactful ending. Addressing the movie's ending , the movie's writer and director David Lowery explains, “We thought about whether or not we should show it, but it doesn’t matter as much as just knowing that he got it," before adding that revealing M's message would only "complicate that moment — you’d see something, process it, and then wonder what it means." Ultimately, what's important is that C eventually gets to read it, and find the closure he needed to vanish from his current state of existence and escape the time loop. His legacy has finally ended.

The Legacy of David Lowery's 'A Ghost Story'

A Ghost Story 's overall contemplative and philosophical tone forces its viewers to reflect on love, connection, and loss without being too heavy-handed. Its subtle approach and nuanced storytelling create a quiet powerhouse that resonates deeply and stays with viewers long after the credits roll. Perhaps it is for this reason A Ghost Story ranks high among David Lowery's movies, currently sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes . After A Ghost Story , Lowery would go on to make The Old Man & the Gun , The Green Knight , and Peter Pan & Wendy . It's certainly an impressive filmography. However, the Rooney Mara-led drama remains a standout in his career, an intimate examination of the human experience in its own way. The movie's poignant exploration of grief and loss against the canvas of time lends itself to its enduring legacy.

A Ghost Story is currently streaming on Max in the U.S.

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