The Visit Review

M. Night Shyamalan's brutal fall from grace has been widely publicized and parodied over the years. I've never been a huge fan of the guy, even his films that are generally considered to be good. The Sixth Sense was fun the first time around, but really didn't hold up for me on repeat viewings. Signs is too full of plot holes and wooden acting for me to enjoy. The only Shyamalan movie that I really like and watch every now and then is Unbreakable, a very underrated movie that is my personal favorite of his. After these first three films in his career, the guy just hit a slump, and he hit it hard. The Visit is a tiny movie - it cost Shyamalan $5 million to make. He was going back to his roots, which made me hopeful that he could once again produce a quality film. And that he has. I found The Visit to be a hugely enjoyable mix of comedy and horror that, despite some fine-tuning issues, looks like a return to form for the director.

Shyamalan's latest project follows two young kids - a 15-year old girl and a 13-year old boy - who go to visit their grandparents whom they've never met. The mother of the two children has always had a poor relationship with her parents, which is why they had never met their grandkids. Now is their chance. They get an entire week to spend with them to get to know them. During this visit, however, the kids quickly realize that something is not right with their grandparents.

All the actors in this movie are great. Shyamalan has always been able to get some pretty good performances out of his actors (or at least he used to be able to), especially young kids in his movies (excluding Noah Ringer, of course). Olivia DeJonge plays Rebecca, the young girl, and she was really great. However, Ed Oxenbould is the one that gives a star-making performance as Tyler, Rebecca's younger brother. He was so great in every scene. Really a revelatory turn that should get him more work soon.

The thing that made The Visit so entertaining to me was its tongue-in-cheek attitude towards all the creepy stuff that was going on. It could have been a depressingly dour horror film that took itself deadly seriously like so many modern horror movies do. But instead it tries to look at all the cliches and conventions of the genre with some levity. I have to say, that tone was not something I was expecting, but Shyamalan hit it out of the park for the most part. One minute you're laughing hysterically and the next you're gripping your seat in suspense. And sometimes, you're doing both simultaneously.

I think the reason the humor hits so well is because, ultimately, Shyamalan is poking fun at himself. He's done the whole horror movie thing and he's taken it all seriously before. Now, he's taking a step back and deciding to laugh with the audience rather than having them laugh at him and his failures. And there are some big laughs in The Visit. I'm really hesitant to even call it a horror film, because it really is a comedy with some horror elements. A lot of the biggest hits in terms of humor came from the young boy, Oxenbould. That kid was hilarious.

There are some problems with the movie. Most of them are regarding the narrative and storytelling. For one, the film features a predictable twist that most moviegoers will guess before it is actually revealed. Luckily, the story does not hinge too heavily on this plot twist like some of Shyamalan's other works, so it is still quite enjoyable even with such a predictable ending. I also felt the script could have used a couple extra editing sessions. I can't say there were any huge, gaping wholes in the writing; but, there were a handful of moments throughout that I noticed little cracks or imperfections in the script that could have been fixed fairly easily.

Additionally, it is a found footage film. The only found footage film that I have ever enjoyed (literally the only one) is Josh Trank's Chronicle, an underrated gem that transcended its filming style. I enjoyed The Visit a little less than Chronicle, but it does now rank  as one of the two found footage movies I like. Even so, I still think the whole premise of a found footage film is inherently flawed and it can definitely be distracting. The Visit is able to overcome the detriment of being a found footage movie better than most, and the reasoning behind it being such a film is solid. Still, I can't help but be taken out of the viewing experience every once in a while simply because of the bothersome found footage style.

I would still highly recommend checking out The Visit in theaters, even if you're not a fan of the horror genre. There is a lot more here to enjoy than just cheap thrills and creepy imagery - although it does provide plenty of that. It's an incredibly funny film that is worth going to see for its comedic elements alone. But, it also has some touching character moments that came out of nowhere and quite honestly pulled at my heartstrings. The found footage conventions may be a little irritating and, as I said, the script could use a little fine-tuning. But for a guy who has brought us such piles of garbage as The Happening and The Last Airbender, this is a huge leap forward and may very well be my second favorite film of his behind Unbreakable. I'm hoping he can keep the success going with his subsequent projects.

B+