Review of The Visit (2015) by Mike D — 26 Feb 2017

M. Night Shyamalan has had a rollercoaster of a career as a director, and his 2015 thriller 'The Visit' was not one of the high points. The rural Pennsylvania-set film follows two young siblings who spend a week at the home of their grandparents (whom, by the way, they've never met). Of course, like is the case with all Shyamalan movies, not everything is quite as it seems, and things begin to unravel quickly.

The cast consists of lesser-known actors, but Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie do a respectable job as the elderly couple, whereas the two young child actors come off as pretentious and bratty (and not just because the characters they play are like that). There is an interesting, odd dynamic that develops between the four of them, and as the kids learn more information about their hosts, more questions are raised than answered.

While 'Visit' was marketed as a supernatural thriller (and borderline horror film) it really is more like a psychological take on family home videos. The way the film is shot through a handheld camera helps the audience feel like they are in the movie, even though this technique has been used quite a bit lately. The plot is basic but open-ended enough to allow for lots of unexpected events, and many of the things that transpire are things that should not happen with anyone's grandparents. When the classic "Shyamalan twist" hits, it's more unsettling and disturbing than anything else, and one of the sequences in the third act is so disgusting that it's a wonder that more people did not vomit in theaters.

'The Visit' is not scary. It's not funny, either, although it tries to be. If anything, the film is a botched attempt at renewing Shyamalan's brand, and does not deserve much attention.