Peril on the Screen: The Visit

*image from wiki
title: The Visit
genre: thriller/comedy
released: September 8, 2015 U.S.
rated: 5 out of 5 for thrills and even a few laughs

My thoughts:
When I saw that M. Night Shyamalan had a new film out I wanted to see it right away. He has produced gems like The Sixth Sense, Signs and The Village and I am a fan of his work. He tends to infuse heart and soul into his films.

Teen siblings Rebecca and Tyler are going to stay for one week at their grandparents remote farm-house. Their mom Loretta has been estranged from her parents for 15 years so the children have never met their grandparents. Loretta sets up the arrangement via phone and send the kids off on a train where their grandparents will pick them up from the station.

Rebecca wants to make the visit into a documentary film so we see much of the movie through her lens. The kids Skype with their mom on and off throughout.

Grandparents James and Doris welcome the kids with open arms, but the children are told that bedtime is at 9:30 p.m. When on the first night there Rebecca ventures out of the bedroom, camera in hand, wanting to get some of grandmother’s homemade cookies, she sees a terrifying sight. After that night the children are told not to leave their bedrooms past bedtime.
As the days go by, the kids witness stranger and scarier things, but they figure their grandparents are just old and they are only there for the week anyway.

Seeing a scary film in the theater takes it up a notch, you feel more a part of the movie if the movie is done well, that is.
The Visit has everything a scary movie should have, characters you root for, unexpected surprises, suspense and some very chilling scenes.
The film draws you in and there is plenty of tension throughout. There was also a shocking twist that I just did not see coming at all, but it made sense.

For the first time in a long time I jumped in my seat during one very scary moment and after the shock of that wore off a little, I just began to laugh. It’s almost like a “gotcha” moment.
Since some of the central characters are children, you really want them to make it out okay. I have to say the actors who play Rebecca and Tyler did an amazing job. Tyler especially who brings comic relief to the movie in several scenes.

I enjoyed The Visit very much, I got the thrills I paid for.

This has been part of R.I.P. X