By Eryn Brennan
\nIn Motion Staff Writer<\/p>\n
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, \u201cThe Visit,\u201d is an enigma. It\u2019s not quite a horror film, though it has horrific aspects. Mostly, it has many darkly humorous moments, but certainly is not a comedy.
\n\u201cThe Visit\u201d is that rare movie that doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. The movie begins with a woman (Kathryn Hahn) being interviewed by her daughter Becca (Olivia DeJonge) about the day she left home. Becca is making a documentary about her and her younger brother, Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) meeting their grandparents for the first time.
\nYears earlier, their mother had a falling out with her parents over the man she had fallen in love with. On the day she left home, something terrible happened between them. What transpired exactly, she’s not telling.
\nAll the audience knows is that it was bad enough that she hasn’t spoken to them since. Finally, 15 years later, at her parents\u2019 request and her kids\u2019 insistence, she allows Becca and Tyler to spend the week with their Nana and Pop Pop, played by Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie, respectively.
\nSoon after their arrival, however, they notice that something seems to be amiss with their grandparents. When Pop Pop declares what a great week they will have, warning them to just don’t go down to the basement, we know Becca and Tyler are in for an epically bad time.
\nThroughout, the movie features solid performances. Dunagan in particular becomes more and more unhinged throughout the movie and is directly responsible for why viewers may never want to play hide-and-seek again. Although this isn’t a typical horror movie, there are typical horror movie tropes.
\nThe setting of an isolated farmhouse in a rural area, for example. Or the scene that will makes audiences want to yell, \u201cNo, don’t go down there, that’s a terrible idea!\u201d
\nThose looking for something action-packed will definitely not find it here. Most of the action is reserved for the last act. Yet, the movie burns with slow intensity. The promise that something sinister is waiting our protagonists is always there, even if nothing explicitly bad is happening on the screen. Rather, it’s lurking around the corner, in the next scene perhaps.
\nIf you’re interested in seeing a movie that has intrigue, is more than a little creepy, and has the patented M. Night Shyamalan twist, you will like \u201cThe Visit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: This review won first place in the on-the-spot critical review contest at the 56th annual Florida College System\u2019s Publications Association conference Oct. 16.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Eryn Brennan In Motion Staff Writer M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, \u201cThe Visit,\u201d is an enigma. It\u2019s not quite a horror film, though it has horrific aspects. Mostly, it has many darkly humorous moments, but certainly is not a comedy. \u201cThe Visit\u201d is that rare movie that doesn’t fit Continue reading ‘The Visit’ twists, turns to an action-packed final act<\/span>