MOVIE OF THE WEEK (9/11/15): THE VISIT
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| "Hello ... There's absolutely nothing wrong with this picture – unless you remember that if that was true, this movie likely wouldn't be happening ..." Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) say goodnight to their grandson Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) in a scene from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's latest thriller THE VISIT. Credit: © 2015 Universal Pictures. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn and Celia Keenan-Bolger
WRITER(S): M. Night Shyamalan
DIRECTOR(S): M. Night Shyamalan
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Set once again in writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's home state of Pennsylvania, The Visit stars Kathryn Hahn as a mother of two young, very inquisitive children: aspiring rapper Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) and aspiring documentarian Becca (Olivia DeJonge). Tyler and Becca are excited because despite the fact their mother hasn't spoken to her parents in over 10 years following an unspecified incident, they will be heading to their grandparents' farm for a week to finally meet them. Catching an Amtrak to their quaint little town, Tyler and Becca meet Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) and all seems well and good.
Then nighttime comes ... And Tyler and Becca quickly notice that their grandparents tend to act a bit, well, strange – and that is putting it mildly.
Arriving Monday, all Tyler and Becca have to do is get through to Saturday and everything will be fine. But this is a M. Night Shyamalan movie, so if you think that's gonna be an easy task, you have no idea what you're in for ... Just like poor Tyler and Becca.
Then nighttime comes ... And Tyler and Becca quickly notice that their grandparents tend to act a bit, well, strange – and that is putting it mildly.
Arriving Monday, all Tyler and Becca have to do is get through to Saturday and everything will be fine. But this is a M. Night Shyamalan movie, so if you think that's gonna be an easy task, you have no idea what you're in for ... Just like poor Tyler and Becca.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People looking for something different at the box office than just about anything else out right now; those who appreciate the era when horror movies were more creepy and weird than filled with gore and pure violence; anyone who doesn't go into the movie already prepared to hate it.
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Anyone not in the previous three aforementioned categories
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? In classic M. Night Shyamalan fashion, The Visit is a movie that will great to some, awful to some and just OK to many ... But if you can appreciate a film where the mood is steadily creepy, the characters are funny in unexpected ways and the expected twist is actual one that works in terms of the story and The Visit could arguably be his best film since Unbreakable.
As I said in the previous paragraph, The Visit sports a generally weird – but weird in a good way – vibe as instead of keeping you on the edge of your seat with false scares, the film instead keeps you wondering what is going on just like it does its two young leads. Oxenbould steals the show as Tyler with a combination of a decent sense of self-awareness coupled with "I know something is up but I don't know what" sensibility that works more than is does not. Throw in his character's ridiculous yet endearing raps and he's both endearing and entertaining. DeJonge also does a nice job playing into most tropes of white females in horror-type movie situations. She pays homage to the time-honored tradition of being aloof to the point you want to yell at the screen until she is forced into "go time" mode by her antagonists and you yell in a supportive fashion.
However, one has to give a fair deal of credit to Dunagan and McRobbie for committing fully to their characters. Not giving away too much without misdirection to keep you going "what, what, WHAT?!" throughout the film's 1 hour, 44 minute run time, Dunagan and McRobbie toe the line between weird and creepy enough to keep you entertained up to the film's climax. There's at least one scene you will remember long after you leave the theater no matter how hard you may wish to forget it, which is more than I can say for the spate of lackluster horror/supernatural thrillers that have hit theaters this year.
To his credit, Shyamalan uses his cast (which save for Hahn is devoid of any recognizable stars) and a mix of standard camera and his characters' home documentary footage to decent effect to create an effectively creepy movie that doesn't feel cheesy. (It's thankfully no Lady in the Water if nothing else!) While his best work may be behind him, The Visit is not so much a return to form and the promise he displayed early in his career before he became too full of himself for his own good as much as it is just a credible piece of work that shows he's not finished.
If you're in a mood to watch something just a little different than will at least make you feel like you got your money's worth, The Visit might satisfy those making one to the movies this September.
As I said in the previous paragraph, The Visit sports a generally weird – but weird in a good way – vibe as instead of keeping you on the edge of your seat with false scares, the film instead keeps you wondering what is going on just like it does its two young leads. Oxenbould steals the show as Tyler with a combination of a decent sense of self-awareness coupled with "I know something is up but I don't know what" sensibility that works more than is does not. Throw in his character's ridiculous yet endearing raps and he's both endearing and entertaining. DeJonge also does a nice job playing into most tropes of white females in horror-type movie situations. She pays homage to the time-honored tradition of being aloof to the point you want to yell at the screen until she is forced into "go time" mode by her antagonists and you yell in a supportive fashion.
However, one has to give a fair deal of credit to Dunagan and McRobbie for committing fully to their characters. Not giving away too much without misdirection to keep you going "what, what, WHAT?!" throughout the film's 1 hour, 44 minute run time, Dunagan and McRobbie toe the line between weird and creepy enough to keep you entertained up to the film's climax. There's at least one scene you will remember long after you leave the theater no matter how hard you may wish to forget it, which is more than I can say for the spate of lackluster horror/supernatural thrillers that have hit theaters this year.
To his credit, Shyamalan uses his cast (which save for Hahn is devoid of any recognizable stars) and a mix of standard camera and his characters' home documentary footage to decent effect to create an effectively creepy movie that doesn't feel cheesy. (It's thankfully no Lady in the Water if nothing else!) While his best work may be behind him, The Visit is not so much a return to form and the promise he displayed early in his career before he became too full of himself for his own good as much as it is just a credible piece of work that shows he's not finished.
If you're in a mood to watch something just a little different than will at least make you feel like you got your money's worth, The Visit might satisfy those making one to the movies this September.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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