The Visit
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Kathryn Hahn
Duration: 94 mins
Class: PG13
KRS Film Releasing

A little bit of research into my archives has revealed that anything associated with the name M Night Shyamalan attached to it has not fared very well in my esteem since I started writing reviews. Ever since the writer/director made his name so spectacularly with 1999s smash hit, The Sixth Sense – superb in every sense – he never quite reached those heady heights again; quite the opposite in fact, producing quite a few duds in his efforts to replicate that success.

Night Shyamalan has recently said he wanted to get back to his independent roots and make a smaller picture that would “speak to a primal, lifelong excitement: being terrified at the movies,” and while The Visit may not quite be as terrifying as it could have been, it is certainly a ‘smaller’ picture (it features no big names à la Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson) and has much going for it certainly in terms of storyline, characterisation and atmosphere.

Young teens Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) head off to visit their maternal grandparents for a week. They have never met Nana (Deanne Dunagan) or Pop (Peter McRobbie), their mother (Kathryn Hahn) having left the family home years before with little contact with them since.

The kids are looking forward to meeting their estranged relatives, and the elderly couple make them feel very welcome on their homely Pennsylvania farm. Pop jokes that they only have three rules: the kids can eat as much as want; they must have a great time and last but not least… they must never leave their room after 9.30pm.

Becca and Tyler put this last one down to eccentricity... yet as the days wear on, they both begin to sense something rather sinister about Nana and Pop as things start to go bump in the night…

Maybe Night Shyamalan has finally rediscovered his mojo

Night Shyamalan keeps it all simple. The plot is straight-forward and the director uses few gimmicks to tell it – one such gimmick is the use ‘filmed footage’ trope, yet the director gives it a new take with the audience seeing much of the action from budding filmmaker Becca’s camera as she meticulously records the details of their trip for a documentary. That the grandparent’s increasingly bizarre behaviour is seen through the camera lens makes the whole that much more chilling and intimate; and if things never go down the road of something truly terrifying to truly satiate hard-core horror fans, that the director maintains an interrupted sense of tension throughout is to be commended.

The script is peppered with some quirky humour throughout which adds to the fun – and there are a couple of moments when the tension is broken for a heartfelt chuckle here and there.

Full marks to the main cast; a quartet of virtual unknowns each of whom gives a top-notch performance. The young DeJonge and Oxenbould are great, effortlessly displaying the petty rivalries and genuine affection so recognisable in siblings so relatable. They are both well-drawn characters – she quiet, intelligent and really keen on her filming; he a bit more outgoing, yet with his own issues that manifest though his OCD. That he is an aspiring rapper is a delight, leading to a couple of great scenes where he gets to show off his skills.

Their senior co-stars, Dunagan and McRobbie, display all the charm and quirkiness of a couple of lovable OAPs… and when things start to unstick… both actors show a penchant for both adorability and eeriness.

The whole unfolds at a steady, agreeable pace and we are treated to a tiny twist at the end… not a major one à la The Sixth Sense, but enough to indicate that may-be Night Shyamalan has finally rediscovered his mojo.