M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Remain’ Wows Beyond Fest With Rave First Reactions

M. Night Shyamalan has never been a director who plays it safe with audience expectations. His career has swung between iconic twists, divisive experiments, and crowd-pleasing thrillers, which makes every new project feel like an event. When a Shyamalan movie arrives with real buzz, it tends to travel fast.

That buzz was already building for ‘Remain’, a supernatural romance that pairs the filmmaker with novelist Nicholas Sparks. The first trailer drew curiosity for its strange, sentimental tone, and anticipation only grew from there.

On Tuesday night, attendees at Beyond Fest showed up at the Director’s Village theater expecting a screening of ‘The Sixth Sense’. Instead, Shyamalan walked onstage and revealed he was showing ‘Remain’, roughly 4 months before its planned release. World of Reel noted that screening a film this early suggests real confidence from the director and Warner Bros.

Film Crave gathered the first reactions in a post on X, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Critic Griffin Schiller of FilmSpeak said the movie shows the director at his most earnest and sincere, praising Jake Gyllenhaal as a subdued but soulful lead and Phoebe Dynevor as magnetic. Will Lawrence said it is Shyamalan at his most calibrated, mixing romance, comedy, and horror better than he has since ‘The Visit’.

Other voices added to the chorus. Luke Barnett described it as a great reminder that nobody does fun, movie theater horror quite like Shyamalan, comparing its humor to ‘Signs’ and its emotional ghost story to ‘The Sixth Sense’. The King of Burbank called it his most polished film in some time, singling out the VistaVision photography, a score by James Newton Howard, and Gyllenhaal’s comic awkwardness.

M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘REMAIN’ earns strong first reactions: ▪️ @griffschiller : « Remain is Shyamalan at his most earnest and sincere. […] Gyllenhaal is a perfect Shyamalan lead; subdued but soulful. Phoebe Dynevor is MAGNETIC balancing torment and tenderness with such charm and jubilance. » ▪️@WillTheLandMan : « ‘Remain’ is M Night at his most calibrated, mixing romance, comedy, and horror in a pitch perfect way that he truly has mastered since The Visit. Gyllenhaal and Dynevor are both incredible in this. » ▪️@LukeBarnett: « A great reminder that nobody does “fun, movie theater horror” like M. Night. Has the humor of Signs with tight emotional ghosty story of Sixth Sense. Lot of great scares. » ▪️@kingofburbank2 : « Remain is M Night’s most polished film in some time. The vistavision photography and INCREDIBLE score by James Newton Howard sell this earnest romance. FUNNY – Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent at selling the classic M Night awkwardness. Major chemistry with Dynevor. » ▪️@according2seth : « ‘Remain’ is unlike anything M. Night Shyamalan has ever done. His funniest film yet, but also heartbreaking, heartwarming, scary, romantic, and just absolutely beautiful. The score pierces your soul, and Phoebe Dynevor and Jake Gyllenhaal are ELECTRIC together. »
— Film Crave (@_filmcrave) September 30, 2026

A common thread across the reactions is tone. Critic AccordingToSeth called it unlike anything the director has done: his funniest film yet but also heartbreaking, warm, scary, and romantic. Writer Josh Levesque described it as scary and heartbreaking at once.

Screen Rant noted that many viewers are also praising the humor and even goofiness, which is a surprising note for a film in this genre. That mix of laughs, chills, and sincerity may be the film’s biggest selling point. It also fits with a movie that Shyamalan has said tested better than anything else in his career.

Gyllenhaal and Dynevor are earning consistent praise for their chemistry. Several reactions singled out their pairing as electric, which is crucial for a story built around a love affair that crosses the line between life and death. Even a short reaction from critic Carlos Aguilar centered on Gyllenhaal, calling him wonderful.

The teaser trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘REMAIN’ has been released.

In theaters this Valentine’s Day. pic.twitter.com/14y9mKCNVJ
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 8, 2026

Gyllenhaal plays Tate Gordon, a reclusive architect who moves to a coastal town while still mourning his sister’s death. There he meets Wren, played by Dynevor, a young woman who disrupts his carefully ordered world and draws him into a deadly mystery. Ashley Walters and Julie Hagerty also star, and Shyamalan appears as Nash.

Sparks wrote the source novel, which was published last fall, while Shyamalan was simultaneously writing the screenplay. According to World of Reel, the script departs from the page into more Shyamalan-esque territory. Sparks praised the leads, telling The Hollywood Reporter that they are “both amazing performers.”

If the early word holds, ‘Remain’ could mark one of Shyamalan’s warmest crowd-pleasers in years. Reactions frame it as a Hitchcock-inspired ghost story that ties together themes from across his career. The wait won’t be long, since the film is coming to theaters in February 2027.

Official poster for REMAIN.

An otherworldly collaboration between M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks.

Directed by Shyamalan.

In theaters February 5, 2027. pic.twitter.com/IQDw2Crcqo
— Bloody Disgusting (@BDisgusting) September 8, 2026

Beyond Fest crowds are rarely shy about their opinions, so this initial enthusiasm carries weight. It also sets up a fascinating test of whether audiences will embrace a sincere, funny, and frightening love story from a filmmaker known for twists.