The Visit is M. Night Shyamalan's newest directorial product was released last September 11. The Visit garnered mixed reviews, with many saying that the Shyamalan finally returned to his form, but fell short of a resounding approval with most critics agreeing that the film was mediocre. General critique indicates that The Visit is an improvement from the last string of films Shyamalan directed.
Shyamalan may be familiar to audiences in two ways. Some may remember his critical and box office successes, Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, followed by a string of creative disappointments, the most recent being After Earth. Shyamalan's thriller is about 2 kids visiting their grandparents, whom they have never met before. Their familial visit becomes increasingly strange and dangerous, courtesy of their so-called grandparents.
The Guardian gave the movie 1 star out of 5, saying the movie was "boring" with its 2 "incandescently irritating teenagers" that are the main characters. However, the main disappointment came from the fact that he made quality thrillers before: "the film-maker who was lauded for The Sixth Sense" and even The Village and The Happening made a worse movie than his last worst horror movie. The review also rebuked the publicity that said The Visit is "an original thriller", saying it is a predictable "endurance test."
According to The New York Times, Shyamalan at his best, presumably in The Sixth Sense, exercises his fine eye to skillfully draw out the "primitive fears" that people have. Opposite of that, when he is at the pits directorially, he "tries too hard", producing overwrought but self conscious movies.
The critic also stated that after too much experimenting on originality, Shyamalan has finally "gone back to basics" in The Visit. The movie enjoyed a simple story and scale, a good unknown cast and the surely-frightful story of "child peril" that has undeniable scared the wits out of many generations.
However, as the sentiment painted in the critiques, The Variety wrote that the movie is still not up to par with "the Shyamalan norm" for thrillers. Followingthe wave of documentary/real-life footage thriller, he still has not pulled off the "delicate tonal balance" he's achieved in The Sixth Sense.
The Visit's characters are shallow throughout, prompting no emotional connection to audience whatsoever, when they express vulnerability. While the set pieces weren't as "scary or suspenseful as they should be", the source music and music editing proved to help in the audience's jumpy terror moments.
The Visit earned a surprisingly good $25.6 million its North American opening weekend. While endeavoured as mediocre and disappointing compared to his The Sixth Sense, the found-footage-style horror-comedy has signalled Shymalan's come back to home territory after a series of critical and commercial duds. This improvement raises hopes for his next film outing.
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