A Visita

This is Shayamalan's second film after the Last Airbender fiasco. It's a return to his light horror and small, contained story roots. The acting and script were good, and combined with the hand-held mockumentary conceit it felt very real. If you like Shayamalan movies and scary movies about crazy old people, give it a try.

It's hard to talk about any M. Night films these days without discussing his career trajectory, how he started off incredibly strong with a triple knockout of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, only to have his potential squandered, or at least questioned, with films like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. As a fan of Shyamalan myself, even I had to admit that he may have lost his luster. With that being said, I'm overjoyed and elated to say that The Visit is Shyamalan's best film since The Village over 10 years ago (my personal favorite). And it's not so bad it's good. The Visit is a legitimately good film, with great performances, terrific setups and even better payoffs, and an overall simple but satisfying story, which is all Shyamalan needs right now.

It's difficult to say much about the story without revealing too much, because The Visit is essentially the type of film where it's better the less you know going in. It's not to say the film is filled with plot twists left and right, but how cleverly it subverts expectations, especially based on the film's misleading marketing campaign. Let this be known: The Visit is a horror AND comedy. It's downright hilarious (intentionally so) during a majority of the film but also equally scary and creepy, which is what M. Night is known for. I was laughing hysterically and screaming, sometimes at the same time! The success of the film is how effectively it jumps in between the two genres and frequently on the dime. The third act showcases this in the best possible way and in full Shyamalan fashion.

Though there are plenty of laughs and screams to be had, The Visit is also filled with surprising moments of drama. There are, at the very least, three genuinely beautiful scenes. One of those involves a zoom in of a certain character, and it's utterly heartbreaking. Credit must be given to Shyamalan who manages to get great performances from his actors, a welcome change after the stilted and wooden performances in his last few films. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould play the leads, and they're completely likable in their roles. Oxenbould, in particular, steals every scene he's in, providing many of the film's biggest laughs. Seriously, the jokes in here are funnier than most comedies released these days. Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie are also rightfully creepy as the kids' offbeat grandparents. Last but not least, Kathryn Hahn leaves a great impression, despite the limited screen time she has. She's truly wonderful here.

Overall, The Visit is ridiculously entertaining and a total crowd pleaser. It's the film we were all hoping for Shyamalan to make to get him out of the slump. No, it's not as great as his first four films, but it's a step towards the right direction. Recently, it's been revealed that he'll reunite with producer Jason Blum and Joaquin Phoenix for a new project. If it's another low budget feature like The Visit, which it most likely will be, we might be witnessing an era of Shyamalascance. After all, going back to basics is his greatest asset right now. Who says horror/comedy can't work?

UPDATE: The film is even better the second time around, and I noticed a lot of details I missed during the first viewing. There's even clever meta humor sprinkled throughout that might not be apparent at first. Additionally, I'd like to put a spotlight on Deanna Dunagan, who I didn't give enough credit to beforehand. She was fantastic. How great and fulfilling it is for an actress her age to have a role that is complicated and complex as is the character of Nana, to be sweet and motherly in one scene only to switch (convincingly) to creepy and insane the next. In one especially dramatic scene, you will even ache for her. Only if you stop to think will you notice the many layers Dunagan has to play with, and for that reason, she should be praised.

After having spent years squandering the studio money & garnering the wrath of film critics in his past few outings, M. Night Shyamalan takes a break from big-budget productions and decides to return to small-scale projects constrained by shoestring budget in an attempt to rediscover his creative side and with his latest feature, I'd say he has found it.

The Visit tells the story of two siblings who decide to spend a week with their grandparents at their farmhouse while their mother is planning a vacation with her current boyfriend. The two kids, having never met their grandparents in person before, find their company strange at first but as the days pass, they discover a deeply disturbing secret about their hosts.

Written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Visit finds the director away from all sort of studio involvement, thus allowing him to rely on his creativity to overcome the restrictions imposed by its low budget and he does a really good job at it. The film makes use of all his trademarks and successfully blends different genres & shooting techniques into one solidly crafted thriller.

Shyamalan's screenplay isn't bad either. The plot is quite simple, the number of characters are kept to a minimum and all have relevant roles to play in the outcome and it's effectively brought to life on the film canvas. The found-footage camera-work is nicely carried out and its tight editing only helps in establishing an increasingly tense & suspenseful atmosphere, which is brilliantly sustained till the end.

The expected Shyamalan twist is also there, following which the movie becomes somewhat predictable and the pay-off isn't much rewarding. The performances are a definitely plus for the kids waste no time in becoming a nuisance, especially that 13-year old rapping douche, but it's actually their grandparents who leave the most lasting impressions with their eerie renditions, which only gets more menacing as the story nears its end.

On an overall scale, The Visit is a welcome return to form for M. Night Shyamalan after his lengthy string of critical & commercial failures and is a strange mix of horror & comedy that is able to balance the elements of both genres quite nicely. It does create a friction at times but for the most part, the narration is smooth. The few bad decisions taken in the picture lie within the characterisation range and as a whole, The Visit succeeds in delivering a thrilling movie experience, that comes loaded with odd laughs in between.

I almost didn't see this film because of all the hate for it on this site. I was going to skip it - considering it wasting my time, but my wife insisted. Afterwards, I was pleasantly surprised and glad we watched it.

It's not really a very typical horror film. It's not even a typical M. Night film. It is scary at times, but mostly creepy. It leaves you glued, wondering what's going to happen next. Which is what a film is supposed to do.

It's low-budget. There isn't anybody in it you would recognize. Which, to me, made it seem more "real." It's not perfect. It does have some clichés, some jump out and "BOO!" kind of scares, which turn some people off. It is NOT a 'found footage' film. Reviewers who labeled it that don't know the definition. The young girl is trying to shoot a documentary and SOMETIMES you look through the camera lens as she's filming. But it's NOT the whole movie and nobody finds the footage. The camera is sometimes shaky, but they are kids, not pros, and it doesn't do that very long. It does have very few plot issues that you kind of have to "go with." What horror film doesn't?

But - I've certainly seen worse thriller/horror type movies. I've even seen worse M. Night movies. This is the best from him in years. The acting was decent and the characters seemed real and flawed. The story was intriguing and it kept you guessing. Just when it seemed like it might be getting long, it was over. Not my favorite movie, but certainly not as bad as people are panning it. It's worth your time if you like this sort of movie.

I'll make you a deal -- If you don't like horror thrillers, don't watch them or review them and I'll do the same for romantic comedies.

Now I am the first to admit you have to be in the mood for one of M Night Shyamalan's films. He intentionally tries to throw you off guard when you are watching one of hid films, you constantly question if all is as it should be, or quite simply is he messing with you.

I had ignored all info, trailers and chat about this film, as with all his movies once you know what's going on they change somehow, it's the first for a little while of M's films I can say I really enjoyed.

I won't go into too much of the plot, a single woman estranged from her parents receives an online message from them, she allows her two kids, Becca and Tyler to stay with their grandparents for a week. The kids use the experience to make a film, some behaviour they capture is rather inexplicable.

Excellent acting, but it's the kids that steal the show, I really thought they were brilliant.

At one point in the film my heart truly sank, I felt uneasy being the viewer, I felt powerless, and for that reason I give this film an 8, it's been a while since a movie has done that to me. A bit slow for the first twenty minutes, but the ending is worth the wait.