THE VISIT Review

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There were two things that gave me pause prior to seeing director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, The Visit. First, it’s apparent from the trailer that it is a found-footage horror film, a style that wore out its welcome well over a year ago, and, second, Shyamalan’s filmography has been fairly dismal for the last decade or so. Fans of the director will be pleased to know that this is indeed his best work since Signs, but really that’s not saying much.

The Visit is the type of film, and there are numerous like it by this point, that I can’t help but imagine how much more effective they could have been, had they not been bound by the conventions of found footage, such as the need to explain how and why something is being recorded; the deliberately poor cinematography to remind us that a scene was “unintentional”; and – a personal pet peeve of mine – an expertly edited final cut with questionable content choices.

The setup for The Visit is simple – Becca and Tyler (Olivia De Jonge and Ed Oxenbould, respectively) are off to meet their grandparents (played by Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie) for the very first time and plan to spend a week with them at their remote Pennsylvania farmhouse, while their mother and her boyfriend head off on a cruise. As the kids get to know their “Nana” and “Pop Pop,” they notice some strange behavior start to happen, eventually causing the children to fear for their lives.

Both kids deliver solid performances. De Jonge’s character of Becca, the eldest of the two, is an aspiring documentarian (the justification for the found-footage mechanic) and wise beyond her years. So wise, in fact, that she speaks in such a way that’s completely unrealistic and unbelievable for a 15-year-old girl, even one who is more articulate than most. Tyler, on the other hand (also very intelligent) is the clown, always cracking jokes and busting out fresh, freestyle rhymes at any given opportunity. Somehow I found his character less annoying than Becca.

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Having now seen countless found-footage horror movies at this point, The Visit does little to set itself apart from the rest, save for the higher-quality visuals. It’s still inexplicably edited, with title cards showing the days going by, perfectly framed b-roll and characters who are clearly audible even with no mics present and standing many feet away from the cameras.

The interview segments are designed to help add to the mystery of why Nana and Pop Pop are acting strange, but they feel unnecessary and add little to the narrative. It seems that a better result could have been achieved if Shyamalan shot it traditionally and just kept in the fact that Becca was shooting a documentary. That way the film wouldn’t be constrained by the rules imposed by presenting it as an actual documentary while still retaining the same handheld and fixed camera shots. This would also eliminate the overused “running and screaming while not being able to see a goddamn thing” shot all these movies utilize.

Still, the scares in The Visit are mostly on point, with Deanna Dunagan completely nailing the crazy-old-lady role. Many of the big scares can be seen in the trailer, but it’s the tense, creepy atmosphere that give the otherwise cheap jump scares weight. As with most Shyamalan films, the big question most will ask is about “the twist.” Thankfully, the twist in The Visit is not completely out of left field and is earned.

While it’s certainly a much more contained, simple and satisfying story than he’s made for the last several years, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit proves to be a just barely entertaining affair that uses outdated tropes to tell a creepy, but ultimately underwhelming, tale of geriatric terror.