The Visit-2015
Director M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould
Scott’s Review #276
Reviewed September 24, 2015
Grade: B
A modern-day thriller/horror/comedy hybrid (admittedly, it is tough to classify this film as pure horror with the dreaded, watered-down PG-13 rating), M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit (2015) has moments of genuine scares and surprises.
It delivers a strong twist at the end but relies on clichés, one severely unlikeable character, and a few suspension-of-disbelief moments.
Putting grandparents at the forefront is a clever idea, though it leans on stereotypes. The Visit is a decent watch, but laden with a few misfires.
Paula (Kathryn Hahn), a single mother who has been on the outs with her parents for years but has recently reunited, sends her two children, Rebecca and Tyler, to stay for a week at their grandparents’ farmhouse, whom they have never met.
At the kids’ prompting, Paula decides to go on a romantic vacation with her new boyfriend.
Naturally, when the kids arrive at Grandma and Grandpa’s, strange events happen.
The children are warned never to go into the basement or leave their bedrooms after nine-thirty pm, and the grandparents have a creepy, weird look to them.
Rebecca and Tyler, in true modern horror fashion, arguably contrived at this point, record everything (think Paranormal Activity from 2007) and start to realize something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
The Visit contains positives and negatives.
The mother and the two kids live in New Jersey and the grandparents in Pennsylvania.
They are one state apart, yet Rebecca and Tyler have never met, seen photographs, or spoken to their grandparents by phone, not even to discuss the upcoming visit.
The kids constantly use Skype to communicate with Mom throughout their visit, but no one thinks to chat with the grandparents before embarking on a week-long visit to introduce themselves.
This is a convenient plot manipulation.
Another downside is that the film features one of the most annoying characters in recent memory: Tyler. I am baffled as to whether this was intentional or unintentional.
The kid is about twelve years old and written to be as dumb as possible.
There are at least three to four endless scenes of him rapping, mostly to the video camera, that I found to be an utter waste of valuable screen time and lend nothing to the plot.
Filler, and unnecessary for a ninety-minute movie.
In the end, though, I got the last laugh, as the character, a germophobe, has his face smeared with human excrement.
The third negative I observed is the constant “old people jokes,” which became offensive after a while. The grandparents’ unusual behavior was blamed repeatedly on their age, as if all elderly people were scatterbrained, daffy, or downright strange.
Many seniors are intelligent, useful, and lively, so a couldn’t shake the feeling that the film disrespected older people. The film could have portrayed the grandparents with more dignity.
Now for some positives: the film’s compelling twist at the end was one I didn’t see coming, and I loved that about The Visit.
Rarely is the audience surprised anymore, especially in the horror genre, and I was. Having replayed the film in my mind, the plot makes perfect sense, but is a positive in the heart of the climax.
As for the conclusion, The Visit has a unique slow-motion/dreamlike feel and an odd, classical-type musical score that plays throughout the ending, adding depth to the typical thriller music heard in most genre films.
The oven scene, seen by everyone in early trailers for The Visit, is excellent. When Grandma convinces Rebecca to crawl completely inside her oven to clean it, we know this will not end well.
Additionally, the look and texture of the setting, an old, deserted farmhouse in a small, rural town in the middle of nowhere, create a trapped feeling.
This creates a scary backdrop for the film, and every element screams horror.
The Visit (2015) has genuine scares and will make the viewer jump, and perhaps even shriek. That is what good horror does, yet I am still unsure if this film is more horror or comedy.
Unintentionally so, perhaps.
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