M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, The Visit, hit theatres September 11th and while it may not scare you pantsless it is definitely a fun time. It tells the story of two sibling, Becca and Tyler, visiting their grandparents for the first time. What ensues is a combination of mildly frightening jump scares and a good handful of laughs.
After fifteen years of not speaking to her parents, Paula, Becca and Tyler’s mother, is contacted be her parents to let her two kid come spend the weekend at the family farm. Mom agrees and kids pack up to go spend the week in Masonville, PA. The oldest, Becca, looks at the trip as the opportunity to get forgiveness and closure for her mom. However, things start to take a turn for the crazy and Becca and Tyler start to worry that something may be seriously wrong with Nana and Pop Pop.
Instead of a psychological thriller, it feels like I sat through a fairly well crafted parody of movies of that type. The Visit being an M. Night film there were quite a few expectations and hopes. Maybe I didn’t set the bar very high and maybe I was glad it was a free pre-screening (just in case we had another Avatar: The Last Airbender situation on our hands) and maybe, just maybe, I hoped this movie was good because it would be a score for the director. While I was pleasantly surprised, it was for sure not what I expected. The acting was the just the right amount of amateur on purpose and the classic horror devices are used in some very comical ways. And as ordered the Shyamalan twist at the end earned a collective “Oh hell no” from the theatre crowd. Definitely one not to see alone (so you and your friends can make a delightful, but not too loud, peanut gallery), The Visit was a good time.