Review of The Visit (2015) by Tom H — 20 Mar 2016

Strange, disturbing, yet also slight and uneven, The Visit is a mixed bag of a film that also manages to be director M. Night Shyamalan's best film since 2002's Signs. That, of course, isn't saying much-yet it isn't nearly as easily dismissed as his other recent entries. With the Visit we find Shyamalan taking on the faux documentary/found footage genre, following a brother and sister who visit their estranged grandparents during a weeklong trip. It doesn't offer a lot of scares, yet there's plenty of weirdness to be had, making for an interesting ride-to say the least.

Watching this one wonders what exactly Shyamalan was trying to achieve. Doubtless he was trying to get some sort of realism and authenticity to the film, and thus he thought the first-person footage was a good vehicle for that. Unfortunately for Shyamalan that train left the station long ago and thus is felt like an unnecessary and an unrealistic flourish.

As a suspense piece, however, it works-mostly. There's no real scares to be had, or very little, yet we are entreated to a mystery that does unravel itself pretty well. I also thought the acting was strong, especially from the brother and sister team. The film manages to keep your interest, with some humor as well as direction by Shyamalan that keeps things moving at a quick clip, and provides enough mystery and mythos to keep one intrigued.

The writing is a bit clunky, and there are certainly some unnecessary scenes-especially towards the end. M. Night struggles with third acts and, though not terrible, the Visit certainly left some things to be desired on that front. Yet all in all, not bad.

Okay.

3/5 Stars.