The Visit 8/10
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan
Plot: Two children visit their grandparents, yet not everything is quite what it seems.
Plot: Two children visit their grandparents, yet not everything is quite what it seems.
**Major spoilers**
M. Night Shyamalan is probably the most famous hit-and-miss director on the Hollywood scene. With The Last Airbender and Lady In The Water being widely recognised as some of the worst films ever made, Night still receives the attention he deserves from his early hits such as Signs and The Sixth Sense. With many critical and financial misses in recent years, can Shyamalan resurrect his sinking career with The Visit?
Whether you're a fan of found footage or not, it's important to note that The Visit isn't your typical shakey-cam mess. Firstly, young actress Olivia DeJonge plays Becca; a budding young documentary director. As a result, the camerawork is far easier to follow than previous features in the genre. Funnily enough, it's probably the best use of this particular format since the first Paranormal Activity. Shyamalan has a keen eye for ensuring all the crucial action plays out on-screen, allowing audiences to feast their terrified little eyes on the whole picture - and boy does he succeed!
The Visit is a film that you'll talk about for months to come. Why, you may ask? It's far more memorable than other horror films in recent memory and that's because it isn't afraid to have a little laugh at itself. Viewers will be talking about scenes like the hide and seek encounter under the house, the cleaning of the oven, adult nappies and a terrifying bedroom finale. For those that haven't yet seen the film, you'll probably dwell on the 'adult nappies' for a moment - and rightly so - as Shyamalan has proved that you can gross out a modern-day audience without the need for SAW-esque gore. Likewise, the unveiling as to who the grandparents really are is also a nice surprise. You're almost led into believing that they're possessed or alien, when they've actually escaped from a psychiatric hospital (chilling stuff!)
As well as Shyamalan's innovative new stance on the overused found-footage genre, the casting is impeccable. Most notably is Deanna Dunagan as the children's supposed grandmother. In fact, Deanna is so chilling as the elderly character that she doesn't even need many lines. The most terrifying of moments are when she's stationery and staring into the camera. It's also important to take note of the two young leads, DeJonge and Oxenbould, who play Becca and Tyler respectively. Oxenbould as Tyler allows for some more lighter moments throughout the film, which work surprisingly well for such a chilling production. Likewise, the two work particularly well on-screen and seem a little more practical and clever than your typical scream-teens, something audiences seem to have numbed to.
In Conclusion: While It Follows became one of the most talked about horrors of 2014, The Visit steals the crown this year. Shyamalan handles the handheld genre as it was originally intended and with a terrific cast, unique scares and an interesting twist thrown in for good measure, Shyamalan is truly back.
