A Reel Preview: Everything You Need To Know About GLASS

This week, the most anticipated film in the career of writer and director M. Night Shyamalan arrives in the form of GLASS. In this Reel Preview, here is everything you need to know about it before heading to the theatre.

What is this all about? – GLASS is a sequel to UNBREAKABLE (2000), and SPLIT (2016). UNBREAKABLE was a story of real-life superheroes among us, and SPLIT served as a back-door sequel/spinoff. GLASS follows up the exploits of steel-bending strongman David Dunn, criminal mastermind Elijah Price, and the mysterious creature known as The Horde; a young man who has 23 different personalities, including a 24^thknown as The Beast. 

Who is behind this? –GLASS is written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who directed UNBREAKABLE and SPLIT. M. Night’s career got off to a tremendous start with his ghost story THE SIXTH SENSE (1999), the phenomenal UNBREAKABLE, and SIGNS (2002). He then brought us the so-so THE VILLAGE (2004), the weird THE LADY IN THE WATER (2006), followed by the shitty THE HAPPENING (2008), the shittier THE LAST AIRBENDER (2010), and the shittiest AFTER EARTH (2013). He then straightened out with THE VISIT in 2015 and then SPLIT in 2016. 

Who is in this? – Reprising their roles from UNBREAKABLE are Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, who played David and Elijah, respectively. James McAvoy returns as The Horde. The film also stars Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Spencer Treat Clark. 

Random Facts – The character of The Horde was originally planned for UNBREAKABLE but was cut due to balance reasons. The character was brought back for SPLIT * Spencer Treat Clark is reprising his role as David’s son, and Charlayne Woodard reprises her role as Elijah’s mother * Anya Taylor-Joy reprises her role from SPLIT * The film was shot over a period of 39 days * M. Night and James McAvoy worked to define every one of The Horde’s 24 different personalities * McAvoy based one of his personalities on actress Saoirse Ronan, whom he worked with on ATONEMENT (2007) * This is the fifth time Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson have appeared in a movie together; LOADED WEAPON 1 (1993), PULP FICTION (1994), DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995), and UNBREAKABLE * 

What to Expect – Despite the many ups and downs that M. Night has given us on the big screen, there can be no taking away from the craftmanship of his films. His works are always very well shot and edited, acted, and his uses of color to help tell the story or convey an idea or theme are always top-notch. At the very least we can expect a well-made film thick with atmosphere and tension. The acting trio of Willis, Jackson, and McAvoy are certain to bring great performances, and Sarah Paulson always delivers. As a sequel to UNBREAKABLE, GLASS certainly has its work cut out for it. UNBREAKABLE was a superhero movie that wasn’t really a superhero movie and was instead an examination of how comic book tropes and characters work. Now that the cat is out of the bag, GLASS will have new territory to explore. The real question here is which M. Night will show up; the one that brought us the outstanding UNBREAKABLE or the one that made shitty films for nearly a decade? For this Blogger, UNBREAKABLE is M. Night’s best work, so the bar of steel is set very high.

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GLASS opens January 18^th.