Director and writer M. Night Shyamalan deserves lots of praise for his movie “The Visit.” It is a movie that keeps you on your toes and alert at all times.
It starts out with teen filmmaker Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her 12-year-old brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) preparing to spend a week with their grandparents. Their mom (Kathryn Hahn) was 19 when she got into a fight with their grandma. The grandma and the mom have never spoken since, meaning that the mom’s children have never met Nana (Deanna Dunagan) or Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie).
A few years later, their grandparents find the mom online and ask if they can get to know their grandchildren. Becca and Tyler’s mom warns them the night before they are to leave and tells them that their grandparents are a bit weird. The kids think nothing of it. When they get to Nana and Pop Pop’s house, they think their mom was wrong about them being weird.
The only rule that the grandparents have at their house is that the kids have to be in their rooms no later than 9:30 p.m. because the grandparents are “old people who go to bed early.” Pop Pop puts an emphasis on the fact that they have to stay in their rooms no matter what happens.
However, one night, Becca cannot help but sneak downstairs after 9:30 to get some homemade cookies that Grandma made earlier that day. She sees Grandma walking back and forth along the kitchen, upchucking every few steps. This frightens her and she runs back upstairs.
Becca brings up what she witnessed to grandpa and he says that Grams is getting old and getting sick. He acts like what Grandma did is completely normal. Even though we know that Grandma is not normal, Grandpa is not the usual grandpa either. At least Pop Pop is not as demented as Nana.
“The Visit” is a horror movie with a bit of comedy laced in it as well. It is gruesome, but you can’t help but keep watching it. When you want to tear your eyes away from the screen, something keeps you watching. It catches the audience’s attention and keeps their interest until the end of the movie.
There is never a dull moment. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is definitely a movie worth watching.
-Kim Burns
