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M. Night Shyamalan surprised fans at Los Angeles’ Beyond Fest on Tuesday night with the world premiere of his latest thriller, “Remain,” and reactions on social media are praising lead Jake Gyllenhaal as “incredible”
and the film as “unlike anything” the director has ever done.
Though the supernatural romance — co-written by Nicholas Sparks — isn’t set to release until February, it was the surprise screening ahead of a retrospective presentation of Shyamalan’s 1998 classic “The Sixth Sense.” “Remain” stars Gyllenhaal as New York architect Tate Gordon, who “heads to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend, seeking a fresh start after being treated for acute depression,” according to the film’s synopsis. “Still mourning his sister’s death, he meets Wren (Phoebe Dynevor), a young woman who disrupts his carefully ordered world.”
The movie seems to have been a hit with Beyond Fest viewers. FilmSpeak host and critic Griffin Schiller said it shows Shyamalan at “his most earnest and sincere,” calling it a “heartfelt and romantic throwback to his early work.” Gyllenhaal is “a perfect Shyamalan lead; subdued but soulful,” he continued, while Dynevor is “magnetic.”
Actor and filmmaker Luke Barnett echoed that sentiment, predicting the film will “crush” at the box office and noting that it reminds the audience that “nobody does ‘fun, movie theater horror’ like M. Night.”
Writer and comedian Josh Levesque said “Remain” is both “scary as hell and heartbreaking, while critic AccordingToSeth called the film “unlike anything M. Night Shyamalan has ever done,” adding: “His funniest film yet, but also heartbreaking, heartwarming, scary, romantic and just absolutely beautiful.”
See all the first reactions to “Remain” below.
