The Visit
Dir: M. Night
Shyamalan
Starring: Olivia
DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, and Kathryn Hahn
94 Minutes
Universal Pictures
“The Visit” is a modern day spin of a grim fairy tale; you might
call it “Hansel and Gretel” the documentary. Director M. Night Shyamalan
returns with another frightening tale where children are placed in the center of complicated, sometimes
perilous, situations; a theme utilized most prominently in his films “The Sixth
Sense” and “Signs”. It’s a
common story in horror films, a topic that can heighten the moments of tension
and terror if used properly. Shyamalan, a director whose films have been a mix
of accomplishment and disappointment, crafts an effective horror film with “The
Visit”, a scaled down success of simple and strategic storytelling heavy on the
“creepy” factor.
Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) are siblings who
are preparing to meet their estranged grandparents for the first time. Becca is
an inquisitive and budding filmmaker, hoping to make this first-time meeting
into a documentary. Tyler does what younger brothers do best…annoy their older
sisters, though Tyler will occasionally break out into a rapping freestyle to
add insult to injury. Becca and Tyler’s Mom (Kathryn Hahn) is a single parent who left her family as a
teenager under secretive circumstances. The kids arrive in a cozy small town,
greeted by Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) at the train
station. The two eager grandparents are loving and caring, if a little absent
minded. However, once the sun goes down everything changes.
Shyamalan has always been good at building his characters; with “The
Visit” he takes a natural approach to establishing the relationship between the
siblings and the connection with their lone parent. The journey for these
children to meet their grandparents is partly a way for them to understand
their mother, who comes off a bit disheartened by her life thus far, and to
come to terms with the emotional distress caused by the abandonment of their
father, a decision that has left damaging emotional impressions on the
children. Shyamalan touches on these aspects with very minimal direct
referencing, an attribute to the tightly composed narrative and the abilities
of the young actors playing these roles. This early development creates an
essential investment with the characters, one that Shyamalan manipulates as
soon as the strange and unusual begins to happen at Nana and Pop Pop’s house. While not necessarily
scary, though the annoyingly forced jump scares try to evoke this feeling, it’s the unusual behavior of the
grandparents that becomes unnerving. Nana chasing the kids in a creepy crawling
position while whispering “I’m
gonna get ya” is one memorable instance.
The film builds to a great climax before the inevitable reveal of
the mystery arrives, a defining quality that has followed Shyamalan throughout
his career. It’s neither
disappointing nor satisfying here, which is a good thing because the ending
simply works to accommodate the structure of the story that has been told.
“The Visit” plays like a campfire tale while finding inspiration
from a bunch of different horror films. Ploys like an old, dark house,
wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing
monsters, and the hand-held horror techniques are some of the genre
characteristics that are utilized by Shyamalan. While some of time this works
other times it falls into familiar trappings, still “The Visit” is effectively
strange enough to keep one watching until the end.
Monte’s Rating
3.25 out of 5.00
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