I’m not often a fan of comic relief in horror films. I understand why it’s there, but I guess I’d prefer to let the tension build until I explode. Now comes The Visit, a movie that plays like a comedy with “horror relief” thrown in and I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s used to crowd pleasing effect, but then the movie tries to add sentimentality to the mix and it’s perhaps a bit much. Oh, and did I mention that it’s also a found footage film?
That begs the question: was it a missed opportunity to not spoof the found footage subgenre, or did writer/director M. Night Shyamalan exercise some restraint and decide that would really have been over the top? This component of the movie is fairly serious. Children Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) are making a documentary about a weeklong trip to see Mom’s (Kathryn Hann) estranged parents, Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie).
Here’s the sentimentality. Mom won’t tell the kids why she hasn’t spoken to her parents since before they were born, so the documentary is a way for them to figure it out. Plus, their father ran off on them a few years ago, leaving emotions scars: Becca can’t look at herself in the mirror and Tyler literally freezes when placed in stressful situations. (Dad left town following an incident at a football game where Tyler didn’t tackle his opponent on the field.)
That’s a lot of backstory that’s mostly delivered judiciously throughout the brisk 94-minute running time. However, it all comes together just a little too conveniently in the finale. It’s not quite organic, seeming orchestrated rather than naturally flowing. I can’t believe I’m complaining about a horror film with too much story! I think I’m dragging Shyamalan’s history into it and feeling manipulated. Or, maybe I just don’t think 7-year old white rappers are funny.
That’s what I didn’t like about The Visit. However, there was an awful lot I did like. It is darkly and hilariously funny. It took me a few minutes to get into it, but then I surrendered and experienced many belly laughs, often at the expense of Nana and Pop Pop, who act increasingly strange, first after their 9:30 bedtimes and then throughout the day. I felt guilty at one point because their behavior could have been a result of Alzheimer’s, which I do not find funny.
However, when these behaviors include a terrifying game of hide and seek under the house and projectile vomiting, reality is thrown out the door in favor of fantasy. The kids discount their oddities for as long as they can, and their grandparents continue to acknowledge excuses for each other, “We’re old.” But what else are they? Anticipation builds for learning their secret, and wondering if it will include a famous Shyamalan twist.
The scares didn’t work for me as well as the laughs, but the audience at the screening I attended would probably beg to differ. There was so much jumping and screaming that I missed quite a bit of dialogue. For me, there were mostly jump scares which I anticipated. The truly scary parts for me were the quiet moments when I didn’t know what crazy thing Nana and Pop Pop would do next. Ultimately, it’s those two who cause me to recommend that you pay this movie a visit.
