From the Producer, Writer and Director, who has brought us such creative and intense films as THE SIXTH SENSE, LADY IN THE WATER, UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS and THE VILLAGE ~ M. Night Shyamalan ~ comes a sweet and enchanted tale of what it is like spending a glorious week with your grandparents ~ well, MAYBE NOT~ with his latest film aptly titled ~ THE VISIT.
Kathryn Hahn plays a new single parent, trying to come to terms with her unexpected divorce, a newfound romance, and the fact that her children are longing to spend time with her estranged parents ~ who they have never met ~ even though she would prefer they didn’t…
In a moment of appeasement, she finally gives in to daughter Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and son Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), as she allows them to go off to spend the week with “her folks”.
Bound and determined to video each and every enjoyable moment they spend with their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), Becca and Tyler soon find that their grandparents have many peculiar rules, including that bedtime can be no later than 9:30 p.m., and that they must remain in their room until morning.
When strange noises abound throughout the house at night, the kids decide that they have to find out what is happening outside their bedroom door. Thrown by what they see, and what they are beginning to experience at the hands of their own grandparents. Becca and Tyler find themselves eager for their mother to return, so she can retrieve them from all the CRAZINESS….
I give THE VISIT a rating of: Wait and catch this one on NETFLIX, or PAY-PER-VIEW ~ Even though I have thoroughly enjoyed some of Shyamalan’s previous works…I catch THE SIXTH SENSE every year without fail…along with SIGNS…as things that are that REAL, tend to bring chills to my spine…but, sadly, I wasn’t moved by this film AT ALL! It is scantily reminiscent of the psychological storylines that Shyamalan is known for, but even the few scary parts of this film lack any real substance. From an acting critique, DeJonge, Oxenbould, Dunagan and McRobbie are enjoyable to watch as you experience the building of their grandchildren/grandparent relationship, but even the sweetness one minute, and bazaar behavior the next, doesn’t make for a MUST SEE FILM either. Plus, even though I love seeing Hahn in almost everything she’s in ~ and I was very impressed by her newer svelte physique, her role is so minimal, she doesn’t really bring anything too significant to the screen either. All-in-All, THE VISIT is a film you can catch on a lazy afternoon this fall in the comfort of your own home, rather than forking out the cash to catch it on THE BIG SCREEN this weekend. Even it’s 94 minute length couldn’t entice me to send you to a theater near you to see it…it’s short, but by no means sweet to view….
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 