“The Visit” is the latest effort from “The Sixth Sense” director M. Night Shyamalan. His last several movies, including “The Last Airbender” and “After Earth” were both critical and box office flops. “The Visit” is being advertised as a traditional modern horror movie…with some touches of comedy. And it’s actually a pretty good film – just don’t expect a lot of scares or laughs.
Here’s the plot in a nutshell: a mother decides to send her two teenage kids – 15-year-old Becca and her 13-year-old brother Tyler – on an Amtrak train to rural Pennsylvania to visit their grandparents for a week. The catch: Becca and Tyler have never met their grandparents. Once the two arrive they are immediately welcomed by Nana and Pop Pop who, at first, seem sweet and innocent.
But not too long into their stay, Tyler (a wannabe rap star) and Becca (who’s filming their visit for a documentary) begin to notice strange circumstances involving their grandparents. Nana has issues during the day and seems completely possessed at night (the kids capture this on video), and Pop Pop has a mysterious shed and anger management issues.
Things escalate quickly, and even though there are some story and character flaws, I bought into the premise and bizarre happenings. And then, about an hour in, Shyamalan hits us with a twist that comes as a complete surprise. But it also causes the last act, which should be the most dramatic, to drag on to an uninspired conclusion.
Interestingly, “The Visit” isn’t particularly scary and is rarely intentionally funny. My favorite line comes from Pop Pop, who at one point tells the kids that he thinks they are acting strange – this after we’ve seen him collecting his dirty adult diapers and sticking the barrel of a shotgun in his mouth.
Shyamalan, who also wrote the script, clearly focused more on his director duties. “The Visit” is well-shot, though the handheld camera style has been overused lately – and it’s taken to extreme measures at times. And I appreciate the satirical approach Shyamalan takes concerning this device, this genre and his critics. At least I hope that’s what he was doing.
Or I may be guilty of over-analyzing this over-the-top thriller. Either way, this “Visit” is worth taking – I just wouldn’t want to live there. On The Official LCJ Report Card, “The Visit” gets a C+.
Running Time: 94 min.