[Movie Review] The Visit (2015)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Runtime: 94 min
Main Cast:
- Olivia DeJonge as Becca
- Ed Oxenbould as Tyler
- Deanna Dunagan Nana
- Peter McRobbie as Pop Pop
- Kathryn Hahn as Mom
Review: by Chris
Like most of us I have been disappointed with M.Night's career. After the fantastic Sixth Sense, Unbreakable (and to a lesser extent Signs and The Village, but I kinda liked those) he has squandered his good will by directing some of the worst films of the decade. Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. All terrible movies (with the exception of After Earth, I didn't see it) that somehow are worst than the previous. All commercially and critically panned, and now here we are, Shyamalan is at the point where he's making small budgeted found footage movies and....surprisingly it isn't terrible.
Becca and Tyler are going to visit their grandparents for the first time. Their mother had a falling out with them years ago after they disapproved of the kids father, her boyfriend at the time. The father ends up leaving their mother and it changes the family. Becca comments on her mom needing something to get her life back on track and suggests visiting their long ignored grandparents for a week. The mother agrees and takes the opportunity to spend the time on a cruise with her boyfriend. Becca being an amateur filmmaker, she decides to document it in hopes of getting the forgiveness she thinks her mother needs to move on. They go on the trip and it all goes fine until the grandparents start to act weird and the everything goes down hill.
What I Liked:
Its a surprisingly funny film, the younger brother is a rapper and as awful as that sounds, its not nearly as bad as expected. The kids reaction to things when they go wrong are realistic and pretty funny.
More intense than expected, the tension really ramps up. Good use of sound and the clever placement of the camera made for some scary moments.
Good child actors. Child actors are usually not my favorite, but i don’t know if its the direction, but the young woman playing Becca nailed it. Her brother wasn’t a good, but Becca showed some depth in her actions. Well done.
Pacing. Without giving away the twist, yes there is a “twist”, there were plenty of clues that hinted at what was really going on. When it was finally revealed, it make sense but was still well executed.
Use of found footage. Its a tired trend, but this is one of the first times it felt like a character in the movie made it. Not sure its a compliment, but everything felt like it was really shot by a 15 year old and it added to the feel of everything.
What I Didn’t Like:
The little brother. Yes I said he wasn’t that bad, but wow was he annoying at times. We get it, its 2015, this is how culture works now, but man was it groan inducing whenever he started to rap. Even happened over the end credits. Ugh.
The “climax”. After all the buildup of character arcs and themes, we get some pure ridiculousness with the ending. There is one scene in particular with the granddad and the brother that is crazy and so comical it takes away from the scene.
Summary
I’ve always felt like it was a shame seeing M.Night descend from great new talent, to mediocre, to downright horrible. While not a true return to form, its the best he’s done in a while, which isn’t the best endorsement. It was a scary, fun, sometimes goofy ride that did some things well and other things lazy, but it fits in a weird way. It feels like a full length Tales from the Crypt, or one of the lesser Twilight Zone/Outer Limits episode. Went in expecting the worst, and got something better than that, but not quite great.
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