Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie and Kathryn Hahn
Special Features: The Making of The Visit, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending, Becca’s Photos
The Visit begins in the shape of a documentary that’s being made by the son and daughter of Loretta’s (the excellent Kathryn Hahn) kids Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould). It’s explained, in the shape of an intro to Becca’s doc, that their Mother left home when she was 19 but doesn’t want to share the details of what happened when she left and it’s not something she wants to recall.
The story is setup as Mom goes off on holiday with her new boyfriend, something the two kids have encouraged, and they head off down to her childhood home to meet their grandparents (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie) for the first time after they’ve decided to make contact. As they go their separate ways, you do write stories in your own head that range between ‘would a parent really let their kids go off like that in such an estranged situation?’ and also I expected their contact would be cut but I was wrong, as they stay in touch over Skype. The first few evenings for the kids are reasonably normal, with both young lead actors likeable and interesting, displaying a lot of genuine connection to each other and you warm to them. This isn’t really a ‘found footage’ movie either, something I was initially concerned by, as it’s cleaner and more specific to the camera use but just as we get comfortable, peculiar occurrences kick off with Grandma.
After a few nights of her literally scratching at the doors in the night, there’s obvious suspicion of something other-worldly happening but Grandpa dismisses her unusual actions as a medical condition. Let’s get one thing clear, Grandma is unnervingly creepy and after a few disturbing moments it’s revealed, through an interview sequence conducted by Becca, that whatever happened when their daughter left has left them both psychologically unsettled and it’s suggested that Grandpa may have a power over everyone, as he has a very ‘strong personality’.
As the narrative continues to progress, we realise that neither are on the straight and narrow and what could be considered reasonably innocent scenarios, become pretty darn freaky even though they’re cleverly and simultaneously dismissed as only occurring due to the age of the characters, i.e. something that happens to old people.
While writer and director M. Night Shyamalan has faltered lately by trying to force something onto the viewer, this time he takes a step back and, almost literally, passes on the movie to the viewer through his characters. Much like The Sixth Sense and Signs, there’s a greater mystery at play and while the camera is always on, the tension builds and hangs on imposingly. It could also be said that there’s a film within a film occurring, as the documentary that Becca is making becomes both the movie and the lives we’re involved in.
Most importantly, The Visit has a strong and more unknown cast with Olivia DeJonge as Becca standing out as the lead of the film; she’s both terrific and authentic. Alongside her is Ed Oxenbould as Tyler, he’s the somewhat comedy element but also has difficulties of his own and as siblings they’re a smart pairing. Kathryn Hahn also has a smaller part to play, but a vital as their Mother, and is first-rate as always. The two grandparents, played by Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie, are equally disturbing and watchable as the various unknowns begin to unravel. This is a huge return to that early promise and form from the first three of Shyamalan’s films and as he’s now taking on a new Tales from the Crypt TV series, he should be very much back in favour. It’s good to have you back.
The Visit is released on Blu-Ray and DVD on 18th January and out on Digital download now.
