The Visit – Weekend at Grandma’s

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go!

What a deeply disturbing film. Also, surprisingly funny.

After Shyamalan’s previous films, Hollywood had all but given up on him. Had he lost his touch? Did he still have it in him? Shyamalan bet on himself and took out a loan for five million dollars, using his house as collateral. Lucky for us, Shyamalan used that money to make the huge financial success, The Visit and revitalized his career.

The Visit is the story of two young teens, Olivia and Tyler, who visit their grandparents for the first time. However, the two grow suspicious of their grandparents, who act strange and seem to be harboring some dark secrets. As the film goes on, they slowly unravel the mystery and reveal a dark truth.

The film is shot like “found footage” as Olivia is a filmmaker, making a documentary for her mom about their stay. The film opens with an interview of Mom, who tells Olivia of her estranged relationship with Nana, because they disapproved of her first marriage. Olivia and Tyler document their journey to meet their grandparents, and when they arrive at their farmhouse, film their stay and the strange occurrences they witness.

During the day, all is normal. Nana bakes cookies, Pop Pop goes for walks, and they are able to be a happy family. But don’t forget your strict 9:30 curfew, because when night falls the grandparents begin acting strange. Grandma scratches at the walls and makes weird noises, and grandpa makes mysterious journeys to the shed.

The film becomes genuinely terrifying somewhere in here, but I don’t think I noticed until the terror had come and gone. That said, some disturbing images have stuck with me and I suspect they will for some time. However, despite the documentary style of the film, there are still some beautiful nature shots in here used as scene transitions. These kids sure know where to point their cameras!

I remember back in 2015 I would go to the theaters and see the trailer for this. It scared the hell out of me. Particularly, I remember the part of the trailer where Nana asks Olivia if she will “crawl inside the oven to clean it.” That creeped me out as a teenager. It made me laugh now.

I really don’t want to spoil anything else about the film, but it has a really great message of the importance of not holding on to anger, a theme going all the way back to M Night’s film debut. Also, this film marks another example of him working with children very well and getting great performances from them (After Earth and The Last Airbender were flukes).

Shyamalan Rankings:

M Night is back! He had redeemed himself in my eyes, after making four stinkers in a row.

1. Signs
2. The Sixth Sense
3. Unbreakable
4. The Village
5. The Visit
6. Wide Awake
7. The Happening
8. Lady in the Water
9. After Earth
10. Praying With Anger
11. The Last Airbender

Next week, join me for one I’m very excited for, Split.