What do a tormented child, an ordinary superhero, an alien invasion, a mysterious sea nymph, an isolated community, an environmental outbreak and the worst motion picture of 2010 have in common?

They all describe films made by the once-revered Indian-born American filmmaker and screenwriter M. Night Shyamalan.

Known for making contemporary movies about the supernatural, Shyamalan started out with a bang with the release of his groundbreaking “The Sixth Sense” (1999).

I still remember feeling chills down my spine after hearing the haunted youth Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) utter the now-famous line “I see dead people.”

It was the eerie work of a master craftsman with a penetrating insight into aspects of rooted human emotions, psychology, alienation, death and loss.

Many critics hailed him as a “modern Hitchcock.” However, Shyamalan’s recent work lacks the intellect, emotional complexity and narrative cohesion he became known for.

The insufferable Nickelodeon adaptation “The Last Airbender” (2010) serves as the eclipse of his failures and a major contribution to his dwindling stardom.

What happened to the ambitious director that breathed new life into a dying genre?

It seems Shyamalan has exchanged his meticulous focus and strong visual sense for cheap thrills and sloppy direction.

His consecutive misfires have even inspired a spirited online charity movement initiated by joblo.com to send him “back to film school.”

For the sake of what’s left of Shyamalan’s career, fans hope his current project, a sci-fi epic starring superstar Will Smith and his son Jaden — currently in production and tentatively titled “One Thousand A.E.,” — will remove him from Hollywood’s hit list.

Shyamalan’s best work demonstrated humanity’s need for connection and society’s detachment from the spiritual and natural world.

They presented vivid characters that drew audiences into the dark depths of the human experience and allowed them to empathize with their situations. His affinity for “twist endings” became a signature technique audiences came to anticipate.

It wasn’t until Shyamalan’s futile treatment of this technique in the second-rate thriller “The Village” (2004) that viewers witnessed his departure from form.

Shyamalan’s latest films are devoid of even an iota of the craftsmanship, emotional depth and steady pacing of his first impressive major release.

He is no longer drawing caliber performances from his actors as he used to. The actors, like his unfocused direction, have become lost amidst a world of warmed over themes, tired clichés and overtly violent and religious sensibilities.

However, in all fairness, the success of the “The Sixth Sense” continues to be the standard by which all his other work has been judged. Talk about pressure. It’s not that he has huge shoes to fill, but rather he’s misplaced his own.

We’ve all seen what the man is capable of and, while his fan base is gradually depleting, it’s hard to imagine the Smith’s signing on to a project that wouldn’t appeal to a mass audience.

The film, set a thousand years in the future, follows a young boy on his journey to reunite with his father across a post-apocalyptic landscape. Original? Not quite.

If the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air can’t save his career than nobody can. Where there’s a “Will” there’s a way.

In spite of recent disappointments, it should be noted that Shyamalan has at least three exceptional films to his credit. It’s only a matter of time before he reconnects with his artistic side.

A brief lesson in “Film School 101” is definitely in order.