‘The Visit’ is scary, but not entertaining
Thursday September 24, 2015 | By:Tony Baksa |
M. Night Shyamalan has to be admired for his sheer perseverance. As writer and director of 14 films and several TV series spanning 23 years, Shyamalan manages to get movies produced based on his 1999 blockbuster success “The Sixth Sense”. He has never matched the quality of “Sixth Sense” and it looks like he never will. His newest offering, “The Visit”, has so much wrong with it that it is difficult to know where to begin with my criticism.
The set-up is enticing. Siblings Becca and Tyler are sent off by their single mom for a week’s visit with their grandparents at their Pennsylvania farm. The kids have never met their mother’s parents due to a 15 year estrangement. Secrets abound and the fun of the movie should be uncovering these secrets. No fun here as predictable events follow each other to a sordid and most unpleasant conclusion. The unpleasantness comes from watching a 15 year old girl and a 13 year old boy being terrorized by, frankly, disgusting methods.
A horror film should be scary but fun and above all else entertaining. None of the above applies. From the moment the kids set foot on the remote farm, the anticipation is stolen from us by obvious signs of trouble. We are then taken through the week as the screen‘s graphics announce the passing of each day leading up to the inevitable Saturday showdown. And you see it all coming from the first reel. There is one major plot twist that is fantastic and may have been the selling point to the movie’s producers. Would that it had inspired a better backstory.
“The Visit” is scary but not in a compelling way. It is atrocious and repulsive in the way it forces you to avert your eyes! It fails to set up rules for us to believe in. It is more than anything else – annoying. The script is pretentious. There are so many holes in its logic. I wish I could point them all out to you but for this genre that wouldn’t be fair. I am opposed to spoiler alerts. Just to say, the only spoiler here is M. Night Shyamalan. How could this movie come from the same person who gave us the hauntingly beautiful “The Sixth Sense”? How does he get money to make films? His track record is abysmal. What is especially pathetic is that Shyamalan steals unashamedly from low budget movies like the “Paranormal” franchise and can’t even up the ante.
On a positive note, the unfamiliar cast is appealing given the circumstances. I’d like to see Olivia DeJonge (Becca) in future projects. She has a natural quality that makes you care what happens to her.
Directed with no wit or vision, the movie avoids much needed special effects. The same can be said of the script. Rod Serling would have had a field day with this story.
At the risk of being obvious, don’t visit “The Visit”. It is a trip you will regret.
The set-up is enticing. Siblings Becca and Tyler are sent off by their single mom for a week’s visit with their grandparents at their Pennsylvania farm. The kids have never met their mother’s parents due to a 15 year estrangement. Secrets abound and the fun of the movie should be uncovering these secrets. No fun here as predictable events follow each other to a sordid and most unpleasant conclusion. The unpleasantness comes from watching a 15 year old girl and a 13 year old boy being terrorized by, frankly, disgusting methods.
A horror film should be scary but fun and above all else entertaining. None of the above applies. From the moment the kids set foot on the remote farm, the anticipation is stolen from us by obvious signs of trouble. We are then taken through the week as the screen‘s graphics announce the passing of each day leading up to the inevitable Saturday showdown. And you see it all coming from the first reel. There is one major plot twist that is fantastic and may have been the selling point to the movie’s producers. Would that it had inspired a better backstory.
“The Visit” is scary but not in a compelling way. It is atrocious and repulsive in the way it forces you to avert your eyes! It fails to set up rules for us to believe in. It is more than anything else – annoying. The script is pretentious. There are so many holes in its logic. I wish I could point them all out to you but for this genre that wouldn’t be fair. I am opposed to spoiler alerts. Just to say, the only spoiler here is M. Night Shyamalan. How could this movie come from the same person who gave us the hauntingly beautiful “The Sixth Sense”? How does he get money to make films? His track record is abysmal. What is especially pathetic is that Shyamalan steals unashamedly from low budget movies like the “Paranormal” franchise and can’t even up the ante.
On a positive note, the unfamiliar cast is appealing given the circumstances. I’d like to see Olivia DeJonge (Becca) in future projects. She has a natural quality that makes you care what happens to her.
Directed with no wit or vision, the movie avoids much needed special effects. The same can be said of the script. Rod Serling would have had a field day with this story.
At the risk of being obvious, don’t visit “The Visit”. It is a trip you will regret.
