For some odd reason, many horror movie directors have been enamored by the hackneyed found-footage setup. To say that those products have been underwhelming would be an overstatement at best. From Unfriended to The Gallows, these “professional” films have been near impossible to slobber through due to the camera work of a four year old, mind-numbing plot holes, and failure to create a genuine tension throughout the movie. However, if there is one movie that came closest to recreating the same chilling aura as The Blair Witch Project it is The Visit by M. Night Shyamalan.
The Visit is about two children sent to spend a week with their grandparents, whom they’ve never met before, while their mom spends a week on holiday. Becca, the older of the two, decided to make a documentary about her grandparents in an attempt to reconnect them with her mom. In the process, Becca and Tyler, her little brother, discover something very disturbing about their seemingly lovely Nana and Pop Pop.

 
One of the best parts about this film is that the camera work is bearable. The aspect of making it a documentary allows the audience to see clean, professional camera work that does not make their head spin while trying to sort out what the heck is happening. Even in the tense, frantic scenes, the people are able to follow the action while experiencing the panic-stricken agitation.

 
What makes this movie so unique is its comedic side. Tyler quickly became my favorite character in the movie due to his hearty comments, freestyle raps, and continuous “swearing.” The appropriate mix of horror and comedy left the audience falling out of their seat laughing but also clinging on to their seat with terror. While there are not hordes of jump-scares, the whole movie simply disturbs the whole theater. Moreover, Deanna Dunagan brilliantly portrayed Nana as a crazy, deranged grandmother. Dunagan proves that she is able to take this character in multiple directions, thus making the audience want to wait for the inevitable.

 
Of course, this is not a perfect movie by any means. Anyone who saw a M. Night Shyamalan movie will find this mildly predictable but not enough to ruin the entire movie. The only major flaw is that while the eerie mood is sustained throughout the whole story there is nothing that will exactly give people nightmares.

 
In summary, this film is a lot better than expected. The advertisement made it seem like a silly mix of The Cabin in the Woods and Hansel and Gretel, but it was pleasantly surprising. The Visit is not a blockbuster, but compared to other recent horror films, it will be satisfying to the general audience.