In “The Visit”, Director M Night Shyamalan returns to the silver screen, with a film about two kids who find out haunting truths about their grandparents, while filming a documentary about their first time meeting. This film has been getting some decent reviews from a lot of critics, so i was curious to check out the newest from Shyamalan, considering he hasn’t had a winner in over a decade (In my opinion). “The Visit” offers glimpses into the genius who panned top of the line hits like “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable”, but it’s still a pipe dream away from those Hollywood heavyweights. What i did find appealing about this film was the thick aura of tension and suspense that surrounded these children. It’s visually represented by the fog that surrounds the house that provides the subtle message of just how alone these kids are. We’re all probably afraid to admit it, but there has always been those times where we are afraid of older people because of actions beyond their control. Shyamalan acknowledges that and it makes for some truly great comedic moments that i wasn’t expecting. He’s trying to provide an equal dose of suspense and comedy, and sometimes it does work. Where it drops off is during a second act that is plagued with endless expositional dialogue and several scenes that drop the ball on haunting imagery that could’ve went a long way on documenting the children’s fright.  For those who don’t know, the film is in the found footage style that is all the rave in today’s horror films, but the movie totally didn’t need this extra feature. As i mentioned before, many shots are ruined and hard to comprehend because the camera is always shaking. There were even a couple of outside day to night transition shots that were done from a camera person’s viewpoint. Thus adding more clarity that this film didn’t need this experimental fluff. As you would expect, the film’s score is mostly environmental, due to a lack of music with found footage style. That’s ok, because it’s in that quiet that the movie really manipulates the audience into thinking what is waiting for these characters right around the corner. Shyamalan has always been a master of that, and he shows just how easy these situations can be created. The film only had seven actors in it, but the acting job is hit and miss for me. I could’ve done without Ed Oxenbould as the little brother. This actor has ruined three different films for me now, and i really could’ve done without his lack of emotional depth. The Sister (Played by Olivia Dejonge) is a fresh new face that i could see some great things from. Her range never feels forced, and props to her for basically being the narrator of the film, since all of it comes from her point of view as the director of this documentary. The true glue of the film is held together by the older actors (Played by Deanna Dunigan and Peter McRobbie). They play so well off of each other with Mcrobbie being the more agressive and Dunigan being the visual source for all of the creepy night time activity surrounding the children. Dunigan comes off a little silly at times, but it’s completely intentional because we have to believe something is legitimately wrong with these two. There are times where even a simple stare goes a long way with her communication to the audience. As with most Shyamalan films, there is a twist ending, and it’s one that i enjoyed. The problem is that the movie goes on for another twenty minutes after it, and doesn’t offer the conclusion to tie all of the loose strings together. Everything feels like it’s happening in slow motion, and a couple of questions were raised by this critic for some of the logical events during the film. The 9:30 disease that plagues the grandmother is explained, but i still find it hard to believe based on it’s timely activation, basically because of the whole “Gremlins” plausibility. So does this disease only kick on at 9:30 depending on what time zone she is in? For instance, if she lived in Illinois and it’s 8:30, it would be 9:30 in Ohio, so does the disease kick on there? It seems like a very selective occurance, and that is why it’s hard for me to grasp this thin straw of logic. “The Visit” isn’t quite the home run that Shyamalan enthusiasts were hoping for. But the tingling moments of quiet, complete with laugh out loud awkward scenes, will be enough to entertain a big group of friends if your standards aren’t set too high.

5/10