In 2026, acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan returns to his roots with Remain, a haunting supernatural romantic thriller that blurs the lines between grief, memory, and the unknown. Set against the fog-drenched shores of Cape Cod, the film marks a chilling yet emotionally resonant entry in Shyamalanโs ever-evolving filmography.
Starring Oscar nominee Oscar Isaac as a grieving architect and rising star Anya Taylor-Joy as the mysterious woman who enters โ and unravels โ his life, Remain explores the question: What if the past you buried never truly let you go?
Synopsis:
After a devastating personal loss, Elias Monroe (Isaac) retreats to a coastal town in Massachusetts to restore a long-abandoned Victorian house โ and his shattered sense of self. But the deeper he immerses himself in the renovation, the more he becomes entangled with a strange woman named Mara (Taylor-Joy), who appears suddenly, knows too much, and seems to exist between worlds.
As Elias begins to fall for her, he must confront the terrifying possibility that Mara is not alive โ and that she may be connected to his own dark secrets.
Directed and written by Shyamalan, Remain is both an eerie ghost story and a poetic meditation on healing, obsession, and the longing to hold onto what weโve lost โ no matter the cost. With atmospheric cinematography by Tak Fujimoto and an ethereal score from Hildur Guรฐnadรณttir, the film builds tension not through jump scares, but through a slow-burning psychological unraveling.
Why It Stands Out:
In an age of formulaic thrillers, Remain dares to be intimate and intelligent โ grounded in human pain, yet laced with the supernatural. Critics who attended early screenings have called it โShyamalanโs most mature and emotionally devastating work to date.โ
Genre: Supernatural | Romantic Thriller | Mystery
Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: October 17, 2026 (U.S. & International)
Tagline: โSome houses remember. Some loves refuse to die.โ