(Time to rethink that rural vacation with the grandparents, morons....)
CAST: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn.
DIRECTOR: M. Night Shyamalan
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some compelling reasons not to go visit relatives - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: After a difficult divorce, single mommy Paula (Kathryn Hahn) decides to send her two teenage kids, Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), to their grandma and grandpa in the country for a week. Paula hopes that Becca and Tyler will be rejuvenated by the experience, especially since they've never even met their grandparents. Anyhow, Paula packs the kids onto a train and send them on their merry way. At a rural Pennsylvania train depot, Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) await their precious dumplings - and shower them with hugs and kisses when they arrive.
At around that point, shits goes south - slowly at first, then increasingly faster and faster. Not to put too a fine point on it, but it gradually shapes up that Nana and Pop Pop are kind of weird - and not in that entertaining sort of the way. First, they insist that Becca and Tyler do not leave their rooms after 9:30 PM each night - under no circumstances. Second, strange knocking sounds fill the house at night. Third, Nana keeps trying to get Olivia to crawl into the oven to clean it, smiling like a nutball. Fourth, it appears that Pop Pop is keeping a gross collection of something in the storage shed. Fifth, it's looking like this weekend in the country is suddenly the Grandmother of all bad ideas.
Ruh-roh, Shaggy!!!!
THE DUDE OR DUDETTE MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Since Olivia and Tyler seem incapable of just getting the fuck out of Dodge when the getting is good, it seems this award must go to Paula. Then again, what was she doing sending these kids alone to grandparents they'd never even met in the first place? Doh!
MOST INTENTIONALLY SCARY SCENE: The final twist revelation. Whoa. Didn't see that one coming.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY SCARY SCENE: The scene where Pop Pop pushes something really, really, REALLY GROSS into Tyler's face. Also the most unintentionally HILARIOUS scene. I know I laughed my ass off.
AND THE "EYE CANDY AWARD" GOES TO: This is not that kind of movie.
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: What the hell is up with Nana and Pop Pop? What secret stuff do they do every night after 9:30 PM? What caused Paula to keep her distance from them all these years? And why oh why did Paula send off her kids to meet her parents without even going with them? Bad Mother!
FINAL ANALYSIS: M. Night Shymalan made promising films like THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS, and THE VILLAGE early in his career. These movies are all edgy, ominous thrillers but also surprisingly moving and genuine explorations of unexpected humanity. Even his "weaker" stuff like THE LADY IN THE WATER and THE HAPPENING manage this dichotomy well. Bottom line: M. Night Shymalan knows how to combine suspense with character in a way that recalls Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock.
His latest film is thankfully one that hews more to his stronger stuff. THE VISIT did not look promising to us at first, given that it is yet another in the tireseome "Found Footage Sub-Genre" of horror. Besides THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and some of the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY films, this sub-genre has been paying increasingly low returns in recent years, both in quality and box-office. Fortunately, Shymalan elevates the Found Footage tropes and uses them to tell a story that is both scary and unexpectedly poignant in equal measure.
To discuss the trappings of THE VISIT would risk revealing its big twist. Yes, Shymalan has been associated with twist endings ever since his most famous example in THE SIXTH SENSE. The one here, though, is actually quite frightening, and not just clever - it could conceivably happen in real life. I will say no more, except to state that Shymalan, like Hitchcock and Spielberg before him, is a master at the slow-burn build-up of suspense - and plays with audience expectations like a maestro conducting an orchestra.
The entire cast is strong and - with the exception of Kathryn Hahn as Paula - are all unknowns. This lack of familiarity with the main players actually helps us accept their characters as real people, instead of actors playing roles. THE VISIT would've been much less effective if well-known stars had been in it, because it would be hard for the audience to separate them from their "personae".
Ultimately, THE VISIT is a modest but solid triumph for Shymalan. Being a Horror and Thriller afficionado, it's not easy to surprise me. This movie did just that.
