‘The Visit’ is Original with Genuine Chills (Review

Written by: Wesley Thomas

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan

Well I adored this movie, for several reasons.

It’s originality, genuine chills, surprising twist, and excellent characters.

So, in short, we have two siblings who are visiting their grandparents for the first time. Due to their mother having had a huge fallout with them many years ago, they have never had the chance to meet. But now, the kids have decided they want to finally meet their grandparents. Not for long.

I praise the originality in this movie. And I do not just refer to the plot, but several aspects of the movie were so bold and unique. From the filming style, which flips from POV filming to regular shots. To the quirky characters of the children. The young girl is an aspiring documentary film maker with self-esteem issues. While the boy is an aspiring rapper who brings an element of dorky adorable comedy to the flick, who also hates germs. Then there are of course the creepy and odd grandparents. Each grandparent has medical issues and don’t have much technology in their house. They don’t live as centralized as the kids do, so aren’t up with popular, current events. Yet at first this doesn’t stop the four of them from bonding. Until the children begin to realize the severity of the medical conditions. The level of bizarre slowly begins to increase, to the point where the children desperately want to go home and abruptly end their trip.

The subtle yet effective chills are admirable. There is nothing worse than a horror movie that is trying too hard to scare you and just not hitting the mark. Obvious jumps with a loud break in music, darkness with a suspenseful tune and so on. This movie however, was genuinely unnerving, and without really trying. The most terrifying aspect of the horror element was the realism. There is nothing supernatural or paranormal. The realness if horrifying. Your grandparents could develop these ailments. YOU could develop these ailments. You begin to ask yourself if your parents or grandparents could act like this after the lights go out.

Let’s not leave out a completely unexpected and great twist. A twist that will have you covered in goosebumps. All in all, a terrific movie. I highly recommend a viewing!

Rating: 5/5