The Breakdown: After begging their mother for the opportunity, two young children are sent to stay with their estranged grandparents for a week, only to discover that old age isn't always what it seems.
Watch If: You're in the mood for a decent Shyamalan film.
Not If: You have trouble with films centering on child protagonists.
SECONDARY FACTS
Overall Rating: 3.8/5
Length: 1:34
Language: English
Scare Factor: 3/5
Gore Factor: 1/5
Gross Factor: 3/5
REVIEW
THE QUICK AND DIRTY
The Visit is a genuinely creepy horror flick, once you get past the cringe-filled scene where one of the kids raps for about a minute and a half.
PREMISE: 4
Everyone knows that children are creepy. They've been used in horror since The Bad Seed (1956), but the potential creep factor of senior citizens is far more likely to go overlooked. And I don't mean the aesthetic of age, Disney's been cashing in on that for ages. But the elderly in horror is something that I haven't come across a lot of, at least, not like this. The premise is simple, and only a bit suspicious, which does wonderfully when paired with the simple, uncomfortable nope factor that characterizes the film.
ACTING: 4
I have no love for child actors, but these kids did a pretty good job. They both managed to portray convincing, fully developed characters, while avoiding the cardboard blank that most child actors fall into.
VISUALS: 4
Now, this may come as no surprise to you, but I watch a lot of horror movies. I mean the amount your grandma wishes you ate at the holiday table levels of consumption. As do, real shocker this, most of my friends, and there is a scene in particular that has garnered a universal "NOPE" from every seasoned horror fan I have shown it to for sheer creep factor. The Visit does an amazing job of framing its shots as uncomfortable terrifying, lending a subtlety to the horror that isn't as common among the jump-scare jungle that is the modern horror genre.
ATMOSPHERE: 4
Despite the unnecessary scenes with young Oxenbould rapping, which I have a tendency to pretend didn't happen, The Visit is a magnificent, uncomfortable, and tense film, in a way that Shyamalan always strives for but very rarely reaches. This movie leaves the viewer with a tense jaw and a sense of relief that you can only find in the aftermath of a particularly dread-filled piece of media.
DELIVERY: 3
There are a few things that this film could easily do without, and there are a few shifts in tone that tend to rock the film. (Yes, the rap scenes.) But all in all, it's a tense, intriguing film that offers both atmosphere and plot. If you're debating, definitely give it a go, and let me know what you think in the comments.
Starring
Written By: M. Night Shyamalan
Director:M. Night Shyamalan
Executive Producers: Ashwin Rajan, Steven Schneider
Cinematography: Maryse Alberti
Make Up Head: Pamela Peitzman