Plot
A single mother finds that things in her family's life go very wrong after her two young children visit their grandparents.
Release Year: 2015
Rating: 7.1/10 (606 voted)
Critic's Score: /100
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan
Storyline
A single mother finds that things in her family's life go very wrong after her two young children visit their grandparents.
Cast: Olivia DeJonge -
Becca
Ed Oxenbould -
Tyler
Deanna Dunagan -
Nana
Peter McRobbie -
Pop Pop
Kathryn Hahn -
Mom
Celia Keenan-Bolger -
Stacey
Samuel Stricklen -
Conductor
Patch Darragh -
Dr. Sam
Jorge Cordova -
Miguel
Steve Annan -
Man on the Street
Benjamin Kanes -
Dad
Ocean James -
Younger Becca
Seamus Moroney -
Young Tyler
Filming Locations: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $5,000,000
(estimated)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: M. Night Shyamalan used his fee from the Will Smith produced science-fiction adventure story After Earth (2013) to self-produce the film in question. In his own words, this was "an attempt to regain artistic control" after his recent movies had been denied final cut, and were even taken away from him in post-production. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
It's hard to talk about any M. Night films these days without
discussing his career trajectory, how he started off incredibly strong
with a triple knockout of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, only
to have his potential squandered, or at least questioned, with films
like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. As a fan of
Shyamalan myself, even I had to admit that he may have lost his luster.
With that being said, I'm overjoyed and elated to say that The Visit is
Shyamalan's best film since The Village over 10 years ago (my personal
favorite). And it's not so bad it's good. The Visit is a legitimately
good film, with great performances, terrific setups and even better
payoffs, and an overall simple but satisfying story, which is all
Shyamalan needs right now.
It's difficult to say much about the story without revealing too much,
because The Visit is essentially the type of film where it's better the
less you know going in. It's not to say the film is filled with plot
twists left and right, but how cleverly it subverts expectations,
especially based on the film's misleading marketing campaign. Let this
be known: The Visit is a horror AND comedy. It's downright hilarious
(intentionally so) during a majority of the film but also equally scary
and creepy, which is what M. Night is known for. I was laughing
hysterically and screaming, sometimes at the same time! The success of
the film is how effectively it jumps in between the two genres and
frequently on the dime. The third act showcases this in the best
possible way and in full Shyamalan fashion.
Though there are plenty of laughs and screams to be had, The Visit is
also filled with surprising moments of drama. There are, at the very
least, three genuinely beautiful scenes. One of those involves a zoom
in of a certain character, and it's utterly heartbreaking. Credit must
be given to Shyamalan who manages to get great performances from his
actors, a welcome change after the stilted and wooden performances in
his last few films. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould play the leads, and
they're completely likable in their roles. Oxenbould, in particular,
steals every scene he's in, providing many of the film's biggest
laughs. Seriously, the jokes in here are funnier than most comedies
released these days. Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie are also
rightfully creepy as the kids' offbeat grandparents. Last but not
least, Kathryn Hahn leaves a great impression, despite the limited
screen time she has. She's truly wonderful here.
Overall, The Visit is ridiculously entertaining and a total crowd
pleaser. It's the film we were all hoping for Shyamalan to make to get
him out of the slump. No, it's not as great as his first four films,
but it's a step towards the right direction. Recently, it's been
revealed that he'll reunite with producer Jason Blum and Joaquin
Phoenix for a new project. If it's another low budget feature like The
Visit, which it most likely will be, we might be witnessing an era of
Shyamalascance. After all, going back to basics is his greatest asset
right now. Who says horror/comedy can't work?
UPDATE: The film is even better the second time around, and I noticed a
lot of details I missed during the first viewing. There's even clever
meta humor sprinkled throughout that might not be apparent at first.
Additionally, I'd like to put a spotlight on Deanna Dunagan, who I
didn't give enough credit to beforehand. She was fantastic. How great
and fulfilling it is for an actress her age to have a role that is
complicated and complex as is the character of Nana, to be sweet and
motherly in one scene only to switch (convincingly) to creepy and
insane the next. In one especially dramatic scene, you will even ache
for her. Only if you stop to think will you notice the many layers
Dunagan has to play with, and for that reason, she should be praised.
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