Surprise at Beyond Fest: M. Night Shyamalan’s “Remain” had secret world premiere — first reactions: “masterpiece” and Jake Gyllenhaal “incredible”

Los Angeles — On Tuesday evening, the genre festival Beyond Fest in Los Angeles became the stage for one of the most unexpected moments of the film year: the audience gathered for a retrospective of the classic “The Sixth Sense” (1998) saw M. Night Shyamalan himself take the stage — who announced that, before the old film, he would show them his newest film, “Remain”, whose world premiere he had kept secret. The surprise screening, as The Hollywood Reporter reports, stunned those present, as the film is not expected in cinemas until 5 February 2027.

“Remain” is a supernatural romantic thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Phoebe Dynevor and Julie Hagerty. The story follows an architect recovering from depression, who moves to Cape Cod and there encounters a mysterious woman. The project was born from Shyamalan’s unusual collaboration with bestselling author Nicholas Sparks — the duo first turned the story into the novel “Remain: A Supernatural Love Story”, which became a bestseller in 2025.

The first reactions that erupted on social media after the secret screening are almost unanimous in their enthusiasm: viewers call the film “scary to the bone and heartbreaking”, a “masterpiece” and “unlike anything Shyamalan has ever done”, while Jake Gyllenhaal is described as “incredible” and “wonderful”, with his chemistry with Phoebe Dynevor praised as “electric”. Some compare it with “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs”, others call it “his funniest film to date, but also heartbreaking, romantic and absolutely beautiful”.

The studio’s confidence appears high: at Warner Bros. Discovery’s presentation for advertisers earlier in the year, Shyamalan called “Remain” the “most tested film ever in my career”. It is his second consecutive film for Warner Bros., after “Trap” in 2024, which earned 84 million dollars on a budget of 30 million. The release date was moved from 23 October 2026 to 5 February 2027, to bring it closer to Valentine’s Day — a choice that suits the film’s romantic nature.