After two Oscar nominations for “The Sixth Sense,” M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed “Unbreakable,” “Signs” and “The Village.” But his pride and arrogance (a.k.a. hubris) may have gone too far with “The Lady in the Water” emerging as his nemesis.

Conceived as a children’s bedtime story children, Shyamalan’s plot revolves around a stuttering Philadelphia apartment superintendent (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a wounded “narf “(Bryce Dallas Howard), or sea creature, living beneath the swimming pool. In order to get a “Great Eatlon” to return her to her world, he and the other disparate, often bizarre tenants (Barney Balaban, Jeffrey Wright, Sarita Choudhury, Freddy Rodriguez, Bill Irwin, Jared Harris, Mary Beth Hurt, Cindy Cheuny, June Kyoko Lu, Tavah Feldshuh, Tom Mardirosian) must band together to decipher a series of codes.

Somehow, the appearance of this narf is supposed to influence a writer (of cookbooks, as it turns out) who, in turn, will affect a future American President to shape a New World Order. The concept behind the narf’s mission is revealed in a prologue and a garbled Korean myth which attempts to explain how everyone has a purpose in life.

But Shyamalan’s execution becomes incomprehensible, particularly since the five-story, U-shaped 57-unit apartment complex is surrounded by a huge meadow inhabited by a “Scrunt,” a fierce wolf-like animal, and the “Tartuitic,” three simian-like creatures.

Adding self-indulgence to irritation, Shyamalan plays a primary character – and he can’t act, which is painfully obvious when he’s paired with a pro like Paul Giamatti. Bob Balaban delivers the only amusement as an ill-fated movie critic who offers a cynical commentary.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Lady in the Water” gulps for a 2. Bottom line: it’s pretentious poppycock. Given the expectations of M. Night Shyamalan, it’s this summer’s most surprising disappointment.