the presence of the greys is now a fact of life, like death and taxes.
It's refreshing to see an original storyline for this genre.
I agree with the other comments that the story is pretty flat, and I really would have liked to have seen more of the actual perfect dates, but the characters were charming, the touching moments relatable (if sometimes cheesy), and most importantly, the jokes were hilarious.
[7.6/10] One of the best tacks a horror film can take is rooting its supernatural or outsized sense of terror in something real. That grain of truth at the core of a movie’s scares makes them more vivid and gripping than bare, spooky scenes or the usual collection of ghoulies.
It certainly works to the benefit of The Visit. The film tells the story of two young children, Becca and Tyler, visiting their estranged grandparents for the first time. “Pop Pop” and “Nana” behave strangely, rumbling and being ill in the middle of the night or sneaking out to a mysterious shed, in a way that unnerves their grandchildren.
The smartest choice the film makes is to walk the line between whether this is the sign of something sinister or wrong, or whether it’s simply a combination of dementia and unfamiliarity that’s disturbing the kids. It’s a horror movie, so it’s not hard to guess how things play out, but the film gains strength by playing with that ambiguity. Outside the confines of a Hollywood picture, kids can have trouble relating to their grandparents, understanding the physical and mental challenges their elders are going through. Using that natural anxiety, that natural misunderstanding, both serves as a means to muddy the waters of What’s Really Going On, and to elevate the frightening qualities of when Nana and Pop Pop are acting out.
If there’s a smarter choice, however, it’s in the casting of the two young leads who carry the film. Olivia DeJonge plays Becca, the older sibling who is a budding director, out to document this momentous and fraught family occasion, with a combination of precociousness and vulnerability. Ed Oxenbould plays Tyler, Becca’s colorful, freestyle-rapping little brother, who makes for an amusingly free-wheeling yin to Becca’s very deliberate yang.
Centering a movie around kids is hard, as the challenges of finding the core of a character and maintaining it from beginning to end can be difficult for young actors. But DeJonge and Oxenbould both give their characters a sense of realness in their childlike reactions to the world around them, but also deliver the emotional layers to that experience to make them compelling figures and not just props in this drama.
Much of that comes from the script penned by the famed/notorious M. Night Shyamalan, who also directs the film. He too captures the inquisitive, precious spirit of childhood, while making Becca and Tyler easy characters to become endeared to and fear for. The film also features one of Shyamalan’s tightest scripts. As much as Shyamalan takes time out to be a little loose and show the kids being kids, helping to establish character and tone, he also dots every “i” and crosses every “t” in terms of setting up the mystery and providing plausible hints, convincing red herrings, and a solid build to the truth about what’s happening with their grandparents.
If anything, the film’s narrative is a little too neat. Emotional beats or noted characteristics come back into play at just the right moment, to the point that the viewer can see the strings of why some detail or story was told in the prelude. The plot never feels too convenient, but at times it moves like it’s on rails.
The same cannot be said, however, for the cinematography. Shyamalan employs the “found footage” conceit here, and it gives him a chance to use perspective and the verisimilitude of that choice to accentuate his scares. More than anything, it allows us to better know Becca and Tyler. If we’re not literally seeing their perspective, hearing their voice and seeing their point-of-view from behind the camera, then we see them in confessionals, opening up in the piercing way only a camera lens can admit.
Shyamalan uses that choice -- having the kids “filming” almost all of the movie, for both terror and fun. The hand-held conceit turns a simple game of hide and seek, or a chance encounter with a bystander on a visit to an old high school, into terrifying episodes, filled with crawling figures or troubling confrontations. But it also gives Tyler the chance to goof off in front of the camera in the way a ten year old would, or for Becca to amusingly wax rhapsodic over not wanting to be too intentional in her zooms and cuts, with Shyamalan clearly having a good time poking fun at his profession through the eyes of the child.
The only problem, then, is that once Shyamalan has laid down that initial layer of humor and creepiness, the inevitable reveal leads to a bit of the air coming out of the picture rather than the terror being heightened. Once the scales fall and the ambiguity is no longer there to goose the scares, the film becomes more stock in its horror, and the emotional climaxes coincide with the horror climaxes a little too easily.
Still, The Visit isn’t content to merely offer a snootful of well-crafted horror and an endearing, if frightening kid adventure. There’s a heavily-underlined but potent theme about acceptance and processing anger for those who’ve hurt us, particularly family members. The film isn’t shy in the way it connects the feelings of Becca and Tyler’s mom (Kathryn Hahn, who makes a strong impression in just a little bit of screentime) toward the parents she hasn’t spoken to in a decade and a half, with Becca and Tyler’s own feelings about their absentee dad. As with the scary side of the movie, The Visit pays both of these internal challenges a little too easily, but still convincingly.
It’s hard not to draw comparisons with Shyamalan’s breakthrough film, The Sixth Sense, give both movies’ use of talented child actors and themes of making peace with difficult parts of our lives, but The Visit stands on its own. It’s a tidier film, more self-contained, more human and unvarnished, with its single-location focus and more conventional scares. And it finds the sweet spot between the real things that unnerve us, and the grander horrors of the screen, to make an effective vignette about two kids finding their way through one uncertain situation and resolving another.
Hmmm. It is an OK movie. It is tense for sure, but in terms of what actually happens there isn't much let's be honest. As there really is no beginning and no end, it feels like a tv series episode in my opinion. There are also some questionable choices from the characters, one in particular, that do not make sense or have any logic. I'd give it a 5 out of 10, sorry.
That's such a cute and with such a great message for children's and even for adults, all your dreams can be achieved you only need to want it.
The animation was really good, very colorful and with all the "historical" need for a movie in this category, jokes, crazy and cute characters and a really happy end.
The sound track is great and whoever did costume design for this must have been having the time of their life. It's gory as hell, cheesy at times and really sweet at others and a ton of fun overall. I really had fun with this film and i recommend it to anyone who even vaguely enjoys this kind of flick.
it was not what i expected but i liked it hh. really fun movie and you don't get the story at first but then u get really hooked on with the characters and their struggles and how they help each other throughout the movie. really fun,enjoyable movie.
Fun comedy, both cynical and sentimental in the appropriate doses, just like a real wedding.
the film is very good...
One of the most frustratingly bad horror movies I've ever seen. The characters were all idiots. They deserved it.
I still don't get it why people have not mentioned it as an absolute garbage!
Okay action. Terrible dialogue and meh acting
Who would have thought a retro super-gory fun-fest would be so sweet!
This had potential in the beginning but went downhill REALLY fast. Way too many penises that didn't add to the movie at all. There should have been more focus on the parenting aspect. The whole thing is completely unrealistic and it tries to connect with too many types of audiences.
Regular acting. Interesting story. Entertaining enough.
Enjoyed more than i expected..Had some good plot twists 7.5/10
I was Impressed, I love the 80s style theme, the effects were great, and the sense of humour of the script was on my level. Spot on sound tracks. WTF gore. It's got it all, full on action XD Bring on number 2 :P
Fine for a Saturday night during bar review when no thinking is required.
Absolutely loved the retro feel and gore. Good soundtrack and a fun watch. Great B movie.
The three Doctors interacted so wonderfully--especially Tennant and Smith......and then the Gallifrey revelation...WOW!!!!!!
Strangly entertaining. It made me laugh.
Wow i didn't see that coming, usually most dramatic movies end up being predictable halfway through but they did a great job with this. Yeah i teared up, am not made of stones
Reminded me of the goof times! And the music was just awesome! Listening to it right now. Movie not for all, but definitely will be enjoyed in right hands)
I wanted to love this so much, but it just felt... Empty. The characters didn't connect at all and the Fantastic Beasts themselves felt like an afterthought to the franchise they're actually trying to build.
Overall a watchable movie with some charming moments but damaged by a muddy story and atrocious pacing. I expected more from the HP universe.
Why do film studios have to spell stuff out for us , we are not idiots. The fact that we knew Adaline never aged from the start was a bad move. The studio should have kept us guessing...make the audience work. Why was Adaline on the Run?, Why did she have to keep changing identities?. The big reveal should have been when Adaline met Ellis' father. A great film but could have been so much better. As soon as this movie hits blu ray. I am going to make my own edit.
Darcy is so great. Kat Dennings should've had even more screentime in this.
Liked the first movie, but this one felt.... Milked. They were almost always running from something, which got quite repetitive. While 'run' is in the series name, it still got old very quickly.
The main character, Thomas, seemed to be the only one who was being developed as a character. Everyone else was bland.
What a load of crap. The acting was dreadful. Give this a wide berth if possible. Story line was rubbish too. Total thumbs down for me.
