The Visitis a triumph of M. Night Shyamalan’s career, and remains an underrated gem of his expansive filmography. Known for his masterpieceThe Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan is a divisive filmmaker best known forthe astonishing twists in his movies. Sometimes these twists are clever, but other times, they’re simply contrived.
Across the manyM. Night Shyamalan movies, there have been a variety of critical hits, but just as many, if not more, total duds. For every triumph likeThe Sixth Sense,Shyamalan unleashes a dud likeAfterEarthorAvatar: The Last Airbender.One film of his that’s unfairly sorted into the former category isThe Visit, a more recent offering from Shyamalan.
The Visitis afound-footage horror filmthat takes place in an isolated cottage, from the perspective of a young pair of siblings. When the children are sent to stay with their formerly estranged grandparents, strange happenings and threatening behavior from the elderly new family member slowly boils over into a terrifying fight for their lives.
The Visitwas rightfully considered to be a return to form for Shyamalan, who had just suffered through a string of critical failures. Theshocking twist ending ofThe Visitwas one of Shyamalan’s best in years, and the performances truly added to the anxiety-ridden shakycam that sold the found-footage format.
Why The Visit Revitalized M. Night Shyamalan’s Career After A Low Point
The Film Was Shyamalan’s First Win In A Long Time
According to aninterview with GQ, Shyamalan madeThe Visiton his own as a smaller project following a string of critical failures which made him feel as though he had no place in Hollywood, includingAfter Earth, The Happening, Lady in the Water,andThe Village,which is admittedly a shockingly underrated film unfairly torn apart by contemporaneous critics.
Even if the critical response toThe Visitwasn’t exactly stupendous, bearing a 68% on RottenTomatoes, it was still miles ahead of his last few films.Even a middling horror movie was a big win for Shyamalan’s career, and made way for audiences to once again be open to his future films, likeOld, Knock at the Cabin,and Trap.
The Visit Deserves To Be Considered Among Shyamalan’s Top Movies
If Just Under A Few Key Classics
In reality,The Visitdeserves to be considered one of Shyamalan’s finest works, perhaps just underneathThe Sixth Sense, The Village,andSigns.It’s a simple premise, but a tight and effective narrative that’s enhanced by a format that could have otherwise been written off as a novelty.
Nothing about the film is all that mind-bending, but after the high expectations of Shyamalan’s early critical hits, it’s no wonder following up such films was a Herculean task. For executing a simple story masterfully,The Visitdeserves more praise among Shyamalan’s filmography.
