Glass

Director M. Night Shyamalan closes out his trilogy, that few even realised existed until the closing scene of the 2016 hit film Split, with the unlikely psychological horror and comic genre mashup Glass.

Following on from cult hit Unbreakable and the aforementioned Split the final instalment in the franchise attempts to bring the three main characters; David Dunn (Bruce Willis), Eliza Price/Mr Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), and Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), together to close out the story.

Set primarily in a sterile psychiatric institution all three characters are brought together by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), an expert in superhero delusions, in order to study and potentially heal their minds. In the meantime, Mr Glass who is known for his incredible mind is implementing his masterplan in the background.

Despite its flaws, McAvoy is outstanding once again in his portrayal of the Dissociative Identity Disorder suffering Crumb. This is largely in part due to the audience already being aware of "the Horde” of personalities residing within his mind, which allows McAvoy to rapidly slide between personas.

Ultimately the film succumbs under the pressure of the previous two outings as Shyamalan falls into old habits of focussing to acutely on the ‘twist’ rather than on a concise clear narrative. This leads to the film asking more questions than it answers, which will leave many audiences either confused or disappointed in the ending.

★★½

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