Surprise Beyond Fest Premiere: Shyamalan's 'Remain' Wins First Reactions

M. Night Shyamalan premiered his new thriller "Remain" unannounced at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, screening the film ahead of a retrospective presentation of his 1998 classic "The Sixth Sense." First reactions on social media praise lead Jake Gyllenhaal as "incredible" and describe the film as "unlike anything" the director has ever made.

The supernatural romance, co-written by novelist Nicholas Sparks, will not reach theaters until February. "Remain" stars Gyllenhaal as New York architect Tate Gordon, who "heads to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend, seeking a fresh start after being treated for acute depression," according to the film's synopsis. "Still mourning his sister's death, he meets Wren (Phoebe Dynevor), a young woman who disrupts his carefully ordered world."

Beyond Fest audiences responded strongly. FilmSpeak host and critic Griffin Schiller said the film shows Shyamalan at "his most earnest and sincere," calling it a "heartfelt and romantic throwback to his early work." He called Gyllenhaal "a perfect Shyamalan lead; subdued but soulful," and described Dynevor as "magnetic."

Actor and filmmaker Luke Barnett echoed the praise. He predicted the film will "crush" at the box office and said it reminds audiences that "nobody does 'fun, movie theater horror' like M. Night."

Writer and comedian Josh Levesque called "Remain" both "scary as hell and heartbreaking." The critic known as AccordingToSeth went further, calling it "unlike anything M. Night Shyamalan has ever done." He added: "His funniest film yet, but also heartbreaking, heartwarming, scary, romantic and just absolutely beautiful."

The February release will test whether the enthusiasm of a genre-festival crowd — a premiere staged as a surprise before a "Sixth Sense" retrospective — carries over to mainstream audiences for Shyamalan's most romance-forward project to date.