This film is more ridiculous than scary and will only anger horror fans
The found footage horror film is nothing new. It has been seen in films like The Blair Witch Project and more recently in The Gallows. Movies like this enjoy throwing some comedy into the mix but if they are done right can be downright terrifying. But sadly this is far from the case with The Visit. The film comes off as funny and silly and has very few scenes where people may be scared. Here in this writers opinion is why you should miss this film this Friday.
Tyler Jamison( Ed Oxenbould) and Rebecca Jamison (Olivia De Jonge) are going on a trip for a week to finally meet their grandparents for the first time. Their mom Paula Jamison (Kathryn Hahn) has not seen or spoken to them in over 15 years since she left their house to run away with an older man.
Tyler and Rebecca take the train to meet them and Doris Jamison (Deanna Dunagan) and John Jamison (Peter McRobbie) could not be more thrilled to finally meet their grandkids. The house is rustic, remote and very big. Rebecca decides to make a film of the trip with hopes that it may help her mom make peace with her parents. These two kids have a nice room and there is plenty of good food to eat. They are told that their grandparents are old people and that bedtime is at 9:30 pm. Tyler and Rebecca are bummed but think it is best to follow their request.
But on the first night they hear weird noises going on outside of their bedroom. Something strange is going on and Rebecca and Tyler want to find out what. John assures them that everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about but as the trip progresses these two kids wonder just what is happening here. Why are they not allowed to leave their rooms after 9:30 pm? What things could their grandparents be hiding? And why are they told to stay away from the basement?
This film is just horrible. From the bad acting to the non scary moments right down to the failed attempts to add some silly comedy that only drags the movie down into a place that hurts the story. This writer had a feeling it may be silly at times but was truly shocked by what he saw. There are too many scenes that don’t make sense and usually only will confuse people which is never a good thing. The soundtrack is practically nonexistent and the rare times it is used it does little to enlighten the mood or liven up a scene. The only time it helps a bit is during the finale but even here it is more peculiar than clever.
But the worst thing about this film is that it tries far too often to be funny instead of scary and fails miserably time and time again. The jokes are by no means clever and only slow down everything that is going on. By the end this writer was severely disappointed by this movie and wanted to leave at least once or twice. The film could have been good but too many bad choices were made somewhere along the line that ended up hurting any chances of that happening. Once it is all over horror fans will only be angered and hurt that a film that looks at least slightly scary doesn’t follow through on its promise.
The movie has earned 2/10. The only saving grace is the final scene. There is a moment that brings some light to what is going on and gives an important message that people should follow. That is the only part of the film that helped raise the bar a bit in my eyes but doesn’t change this writers mind about how bad this movie really is. It is one of the worst films I have seen this year and people will be glad they missed it.
There is no reason to see this picture. Fans of M Night Shyamalan will be flabbergasted at how a man who has made some great horror films ended up making something like this. Horror fans will be confused on why a film that looks scary instead brought them some chuckles and by the end there is a good chance they will not want to see it again. This is the first film that I have reviewed that you will not want to see in theaters. It is best to wait until it comes out on Netflix or Redbox and even then should not be you first choice.
Take a look at the trailer here: