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M. Night Shyamalan is responsible for one of the most brilliant supernatural thrillers, and one of the most impressive cinematic twists in film history: The Sixth Sense. That film established him as a wunderkind filmmaker and immediately placed his future work under the scrutiny of hope and high expectation.

His following films saw the writer/director chase that ‘plot twist dragon’ with fervor and varying degrees of success or abject failure. I’ve always rooted for him, finding some of his offerings to be enjoyable, decently made films, but even I have a hard time finding something positive in the likes of The Last Airbender or The Village – and don’t even get me started on The Happening.

The Sixth Sense’s success led to a movie called Unbreakable, which I adored. Most of the world did not at the time, and it tanked at the box office. Years later, after the aforementioned cinema blight that became his staple, Shyamalan took a different tact, challenging himself with lower budgets and delivering the excellent The Visit.

His next film was a tensioned filled tour de force called Split, which, unless you’ve been under a rock, you now know shares the same universe as Unbreakable. This excellent thriller, with a compelling young heroine and complex villain (played excellently by James McAvoy) had a nice little tidbit slapped on its end, when in a café, David Dunne – Bruce Willis’s Unbreakable hero – makes a quick appearance. This obviously spoke to a grander plan in the director’s intentions. Being that he was two for two with his latest output; it was an enticing hook to dangle.

My frustration is his seemingly constant pandering to this expectation that he’ll outdo himself and deliver a twist ending that puts him back where he was in 1999. But I had faith that he might have finally gotten this penchant out of his system, as Split was a tension-filled thriller with great characterizations and a swift and compelling plot. I was looking forward to Glass to see how he would tie the narratives of Unbreakable and Split together.

Glass sees Willis’s Dunne still fighting the good fight, saving folk, McAvoy’s multiple personalities, known as the horde, still abducting young women and offering them up to the Beast, and Jackson’s Glass seemingly in a vegetative state in a mental hospital. When Dunne and the Beast face off, both are subdued and committed to the same mental hospital by a butt tone of cops, led by a Dr. Staple? (Sarah Paulson). {googleads}

Staple’s is apparently an expert on delusions of grandeur, particularly those who think they are superheroes. It is her M.O. to try and convince these three patients that their assumptions about what they believe is fantasy. Of course, as soon as they are made aware of each other’s presence, shit goes bad.

The combination of these three disparate stories is, at first, interesting. They successfully lay threads that beg to be expanded on. But quickly, those threads get marred with incredulous and contrived actions that defy logic.

Again, Shayamalan sacrifices consistency of character for the chance to pander to the expectation of the almighty twist. Because of this, I had a few of them pegged before the end (and there are a few of them), as I’m sure many did. Anya Taylor-Joy’s excellent heroine from Split is relegated to a thankless supporting role. All the main characters also take a hit in characterization and are not the men we met in previous entries. Some of their choices are dumbfounding and do not make sense – all for the almighty service of the twist(s).

The dialogue ranges from succinct and punchy to verbose and downright boring. The overuse of comic book allusions is long, clumsy and a cinematic bore. They essentially tell the audience what’s coming instead of SHOWING US, which is death on screen.

The big twist had the potential to be something interest, but is delivered in such a dull way, and with such an unremarkable conclusion, that one can only shrug their shoulders. It’s quite a let- down.  

The film looks great, and is the one place where the director shows some imagination. Sound design also gets a big thumb up.

Unfortunately, Glass is a convoluted, dull, bloated mess, and a depressing conclusion to what some refer to as the ‘Eastrail 177 Trilogy’. It suffers from its director’s seemingly undying need to recapture the twist success of The Sixth Sense. What it lacks is that film’s understanding of audience perception and character.

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MPAA Rating: R for violence including some bloody images, thematic elements, and language
Runtime: 129 mins
Director: M. Night Syamalan
Writer: M. Night Syamalan
Cast: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Real villains are among us. Real heroes are within us.
Memorable Movie Quote: "First name: Mister. Last name: Glass.
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site: https://www.glassmovie.com/https://www.glassmovie.com/
Release Date: January 18, 2019
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.
Synopsis: Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Available on Blu-ray - April 16, 2016
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; Digital copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Universal presents Glass in a beautifully packaged 1080p 2.39:1 presentation that includes a blu-ray disc, a DVD copy, and a digital Movies Anywhere HD download.

Universal has clearly gone all out with its handling of the film in terms of both quality and quantity of bonus materials. In fact, color us surprised that the studio put so much effort into a film that so miserably failed to meet expectations. But if you are a fan of the film and still onboard the M. Night Shyamalan train, then this one will most assuredly be a true delight.

Visually, the handling is spectacular with very few errors, if any. Dark scenes remain crisp and clear (and never too dark) with no blossoming or banding while exterior shots and sterile insane asylum scenes are clear, crisp, and come to life with snaps of perfectly calibrated color.

To the ears, the Dolby Atmos track is a perfectly attenuated delight with most dialogue front and center and perfectly clear and detectable, except in the scenes which take place inside the hospital where voices echo, bounce and otherwise enhance the creep factor of the visuals. The upper heights of the atmospheric dome are activated mostly from the soaring score, but peripheral sounds and noises that echo about the stone walls during the dungeon and hospital scenes are an auditory delight.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

The wealth of bonus material alone makes this release one worth owning with deleted scenes, an alternate opening, characters studies, a storyboard feature, a stunt feature, and much more. This will most certainly please fans of the trilogy.

Alternate Opening (02:57) - Director M. Night Shyamalan provides an introduction for an opening sequence that wasn't used. However, many scenes of that footage appear later in the film.

Deleted Scenes (24:53) - A total of 12 unused scenes

• David Alone Bar
• Patricia Talks to Cheerleaders
• David Encounters Pierce
• Casey in Art Class
• Dr. Staple Explains Machine
• Mrs. Price in Waiting Room
• Mrs. Price Talks to Elijah
• Dr. Staple Drinks Tea
• Pierce Checks Elijah’s Room
• Mrs. Price Tells Elijah About Surgery
• David Submits to Dr. Staple
• Patients Worship The Beast
• The Collection of Main Characters (08:42)
• David Dunn
• Elijah Pierce
• Kevin Wendell Crumb
• Rest of the Family

A Conversation with James McAvoy and M. Night Shyamalan (05:10) - The two do a sit-down interview

Bringing the Team Back Together (02:54) - Cast and crew speak to the memories and joys of working together once again

David Dunn vs The Beast (02:11) - Stunts and action sequences

Glass Decoded (02:52) - M. Night Syamalan discusses the techniques he used for the film and the use of color throughout the trilogy

Breaking Glass: Stunts (01:28) - A short piece on the stunts used throughout the films. Feature stunt coordinator Manny Silverio

Connecting the Glass Universe (02:54) - How all three films in the trilogy are tied together and the different visuals used within each.

M. Night Shyamalan: Behind the Lens (02:46) - Interviews with Cast and crew about MNS's filming techniques and what it is like working with the director.

The Sound of Glass (01:50) - A discussion of developing the score for the film.

Enhancing the Spectacle (02:53) - A look at the film's visual effects.

Raven Hill Memorial (02:16) - MNS and cast discuss filming at the abandoned mental hospital used for the film.

Night Vision (01:50) - A short on the storyboarding process that M. Night Shyamalan uses for all of his films.

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