He did it. He finally did it. I did my waiting, 15 years of it! After all this time, M. Night Shyamalan returns with The Visit, a film showcasing a more self-aware writer/director, who uses his infamous tropes to his advantage in crafting an uncomfortable, darkly comedic thriller. In a year of cookie-cutter horror, The Visit stands out as a movie that weaves around others' shortcomings, takes risks, and comes out the better for it.
Becca (Olivia DeJonge), an aspiring filmmaker, and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), a freestyle rapper and self-proclaimed "ladies' man" (quite a feat for a middle-schooler), go to their grandparents' Pennsylvania farmhouse for a week, while their mother (Kathryn Hahn) is on a cruise with her boyfriend. This is the first time the kids have met their grandparents, as the mother's been estranged for fifteen years; Becca, hoping the trip will lead to some healing, is making a documentary of their trip to help bridge the two parties together. The grandparents, Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), are sweet, simple folk, but as the week progresses, the kids start noticing their grandparents' odd behaviors. Tyler is concerned, while Becca initially brushes it off as a product of being old (Shyamalan plays well with the fear of aging). However, as Nana and Pop Pop's actions become increasingly strange, the kids start to uncover the darker secrets lying underneath.
The Visit is a Shyamalan movie, so let's run down the checklist/drinking game rules for one of his flicks. Kids saying adult dialogue while adults do the opposite? Check. Stilted acting from the supporting cast? Check. Head-twistingly odd direction? Yup. Obvious commentary on the state of the film industry? Wouldn't be a post-Village Shyamalan film without it. The Visit distinguishes itself from something like Lady In The Water by working these tropes into the film, the characterization and plot. Becca's a young teenager who wants her documentary to be taken seriously, so it makes sense for her to talk grandiosely about how a swing rocking in the wind can produce a "naturally organic" emotional reaction or how she specifically writes tearjerker questions to force vulnerability. Shyamlan uses this cliché for characterization; this is a cliché with a purpose.
The film is a horror-comedy, usually exemplified by horror that softens up the scares with laughter. However, The Visit manages to hit bullseyes on both aspects. When it's funny, it's hysterical. When it's scary, it's bone-chilling. And while for other films, this back-and-forth can become detrimental, The Visit is so consistently odd and strange that it leaves an uncomfortable feeling, that when added to the quiet, spooky atmosphere, makes the scares work more effectively. The movie's like a fever dream you're not able to wake up from.
Acting's top-notch: Dunagan's Nana is one of the decade's best horror villains; the movie likes to show her head-on, and with her smile and chaotic creeping, she ends up sending shivers down my spine. Truly unpredictable, her performance is the scariest part of the film. DeJonge and Oxenbould are entertaining child actors, and manage to get through Shyamalan's "adult" dialogue well, without coming off as deadpan or the material seeming too far from their grasp. Perhaps this is due to age; I wonder if I'd find these characters as endearing if they were played by slightly older teens. Regardless, these kids have great chemistry, and carry the film very well. I find it shameful that nowadays I consider it a privilege to have horror protagonists I can watch for ninety minutes without wanting to gouge my eyes out due to their douchebaggery, but I'm in a Skinner-esque mood today; let's give credit where it's due.
Shyamalan, along with director of photography Maryse Alberti, makes one of the few (seemingly fewer with every passing year) good found-footage movies. The camera is often tilted at a dutch angle, or set on a table away from the action. It feels like an amateur's attempt at a documentary, without any unnecessary digital effects or shaky-cam to ruin the illusion. There's still direction here: a scene where the kids play rock-paper-scissors seems a little too well-framed to come off as an amateur's lucky break, but the shot's subtle enough that it works. This combination of improv with a steady directing hand makes the film work as found-footage without sacrificing any of the long hallways and awkward positioning that makes for an eerie atmosphere.
The Visit is not for everyone; the crowd I saw it with wasn't entirely sure what to think. They weren't sure if it was meant to be a horror spoof or taken entirely seriously, but from all the laughter and screeches in the back rows, everyone had a grand time. The film is jarring, awkward, surreal at times, but it leaves you feeling uncomfortable and tense throughout. One of the hallmarks of a good scary movie is that you don't feel in control when you're watching it; you may be able to predict some of what happens, but the devil's in the details, and the devil could be lurking around every single corner, nook, and cranny. With The Visit, Shyamalan has made his New Nightmare, an intelligent, self-aware horror film that blends all his greatest hits and proudly, unapologetically throws it in your face.
Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.
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