The Setup: This fantasy thriller is based on a bedtime story Shyamalan made up for his kids and ultimately ends up being a hot mess. Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a water nymph of sorts who pops up in the pool of grieving apartment super Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) and tells him that she's there to aid a messianic writer whose eventual book will inspire a future president to make the world a much better place. Once she finds and helps the writer (played by Shyamalan, in one of his many ego-feeding cameos), she tells Cleveland she needs a Symbolist, Guardian, Guild, and Healer to return home, or she'll be attacked by a vicious, wolf-like creature made of grass (see what I meant earlier about "hot mess"?).
The Twist: Cleveland and another tenant initially misjudge which of the residents at the apartment complex are meant to embody those roles, resulting in a bloody skirmish with the creature and some fatal injuries. It turns out that one of the children who lives there has been the real Symbolist all along and helps figure out the right people meant to be in each role by reading clues off of a cereal box so Story can get home safely.
The Verdict: This movie is a disaster from start to finish, rendering the twist (and everything else) ineffective.
