The Visit (2015) - A Spooky House in the Country

The Visit is found-footage horror film by one M. Night Shyamalan, yet another in the long line stretching back to The Blair Witch Project. Once upon a time, those two things, when mentioned in the same sentence, would have sent a shiver down my spine.

You may recall that I previously did a review of The Last Airbender, the film that is widely considered the nadir of Shyamalan's filmography. However, in certain sections The Visit is considered a return to form for the once acclaimed director, and a pretty good film in it's own right. So let's take a look at it shall we?

Reader beware: There may be some minor spoilers within...

The story of The Visit begins with out two young protagonists, Becca and Tyler, going to visit their grandparents in an out of the way part of the country. Their mother had a falling out with her parents when they were younger, as such the two kids have never met their elderly relatives before, and are excited to be meeting them for the first time. They're excited to the point where they decided to make a documentary about their visit, thus providing the film's framing device.

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Naturally, with this being a horror film, all is not as it seems. Obviously I can't go into too much detail, lest I ruin the spooky surprises on offer.

Now, normally a film centred around child characters would be considered a giant warning sign, but not so here. The two leads give very believable and well done performances, really selling the enthusiasm the feel in the beginning, as well as the sheer terror that they come to feel by the time the credits roll. This allows us to form something of a connection to the characters, making us feel some amount of fear when they are put in danger later on.

I avoids the pitfall of having unsympathetic characters, that the audience can't wait to see be killed in gruesome ways. Which is, in my opinion, one of the most common pitfalls in horror cinema.

The actors playing the grandparents also give a very solid performance, bringing their characters to life pretty vividly.

On the whole the chemistry between the main cast is pretty good, and lends itself well to what is a fairly intimate movie.

The atmosphere is crafted nicely over time, with it starting off nice and fluffy, due it essentially being a holiday for our two leads; before becoming heavier and darker, as things begin to unravel over time. This sold mainly on the back of the acting, and some competent writing that allow the audience to see the mystery unravel without being taken out of the moment by any shocking swerves.

Their is also some pretty nice sound design, with most of the sound being diegetic; that is, is supposed to occurring naturally within the scene. So there is very little in terms of music to try and ramp up the tension with, leading to the sound department having to be a little creative. However, it does occasionally fall back on some old horror tropes in this department, such as heavy breathing from off camera.

Then again, these tropes have stuck around so long for a reason, because they work, and don't really detract from the tension in this particular instance. As such, I am inclined to give them a pass.

The limited perspective means that we are in the same boat as the characters, finding out what horrors await only at the same time, and in the same way, that they do. This helps generate tension, as the audience can not rely on knowing what is going on, and figuring things out ahead of the characters. We can not chastise them for foolish mistakes, since we share their point of view.

Well, most of the time anyway. There is some good use of camera work, that allows the audience to

Copyright © Universal Pictures

see things the character can't, including the old trick of something being behind them when they turn the camera on themselves. This is combined with some pretty good framing, that allows for a lot of action on the screen, without it.

All of that said however, as clever as the writing can be, it can also be a little clunky and on the nose. A couple of scenes can be cringe-inducing, and not for the right reasons, and seem a little clumsily handled. Without being to specific (to avoid spoilers), there is a scene later on that is probably meant to induce disgust in the audience, but can also make them burst out laughing at the absurdity of it. This might be on purpose however, since this film seems to take itself less seriously than some of Shyamalan's previous works; which is a bit odd, considering that this is a horror movie.

However, these bits are not so bad as to ruin the movie, and are more like bumps in the road, as opposed to walls barring you from enjoying the film.

Unfortunately, The Visit does suffer from at least one of the ailments common to found-footage films; shaky cam. Whilst this may seem more natural, given that we are supposed to assume someone is holding the camera the majority of the time, it can be very distracting. During the more high tension scenes in particular, the camera jerking around makes the action too difficult to see. As a result we can't tell exactly what is happening, and rather than adding to the terror, it just becomes frustrating. This serves only to remove the viewer from the moments, and to break their suspension of disbelief.

Overall, a pretty good horror story, that creates some nice tension, and generates a decent amount of fear. Whilst the writing can be clumsy at times, the main characters are mostly believable and sympathetic. The camera work is good, for a found-footage film, and every scene seems well directed.

Not the scariest film ever, but worth a watch I think.

Until next time,

PhoenixAct.