A variety of creatures might romp through M. Night Shyamalan's movies, but the filmmaker doesn't want them romping through his yard.
Willistown Township has approved the eight-foot fence the Lady in the Water auteur put up around the 123-acre estate he owns in suburban Philadelphia to keep out deer, Narfs and other things that go bump in the night, despite neighbors' complaints that the barrier is an eyesore.
Residents criticized the township for granting Shyamalan a permit to erect the fence in the first place, saying the wall of plastic netting around the director's property blocks their own views and will bring property values down.
"While those views are not lost on the board, our decision must be based upon...a fair interpretation of the zoning ordinance provisions that are at issue," the opinion read.
Court records state that Shyamalan bought part of what used to be a 500-acre estate two years ago for $17.9 million, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In keeping with his penchant for privacy, the former Oscar nominee hasn't said much about his plans for the land, which also contains a main residence and some outbuildings, but township officials have said that he's considering installing a garden onsite, and therefore doesn't want it to become a feeding ground for deer.
But despite the township's favorable ruling, which was issued Wednesday, the zoning board has since changed the maximum height for new fences to six feet.
Shymalan, who lives in nearby Wayne with his wife and their two kids, prefers to stay close to home and has used Philadelphia as the setting for all of his films since 1998's Wide Awake.
While the 36-year-old visionary has won friends and influenced people, including the zoning board apparently, with blockbusters such as The Sixth Sense and Signs, he might have to mend a few fences in Hollywood after the widely panned Lady in the Water, which bombed at the box office and captured Shyamalan double dishonors for Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actor at last weekend's Razzie Awards.