The Visit

“You have to laugh to keep the deep darkies in the cave.”

**½

Shymalan tried his hand a directing found footage and the results were praised by many as a "return to form." "Sundowning" is the condition it appears "Nana" has when night falls, documented by her granddaughter and grandson as they visit them while their divorcee mother (the father left the family) is having some her time. This is more of a showcase for Deanna Dunagan, as the grandmother, allowed to put a capital C on crazy. The kids are bright and articulate, the older sister a wannabe filmmaker and the younger brother the next Slim Shady. Olivia DeJonge is Becca, still rocked by her father's leaving while Ed Oxenbould (Alexander, and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day), is brother, Tyler. They respond to all the weird that develops in their presence. Lapses in normal behavior (baking and cooking gives way to vomiting, slapping her forehead, scraping the walls with her fingernails, crawling about on the ground, growling for Nana, as friendly farmer gives way to attacking out of paranoia strangers who offer no threat along with cleaning a loaded shotgun, getting dressed in a suit and tie for a party that is not occuring for "Pop Pop" (Peter McRobbie) certainly tell us that something is very off with these two. It is that basic perspective that gives found footage its magic when done right. Shymalan doesn't allow his ego to interfere this go-around, trying to incorporate more than is needed into the plot. The camera shows the elderly folks going from seemingly alright to lunatic in a moment's notice, turning on a dime. The twist regarding the old mainstay of  "escaped loons replacing the hired help" returns as does the Heather Donahue "if you see this footage" line. The cameras documenting everything are put to good use. This wasn't a risky project for Shymalan...the money spent, that is. Good ad campaign and word of mouth helped. Did it totally win me over? Nah, but I thought it balanced the daft of the old folks with some shocks and bizarre (McRobbie says some strange things while Dunagan retreats into mania) in their overall behavior, starting small and building upon the increasing instability of their madness until the conclusion. The kids will have to take it upon themselves to fight out of a night spun out of control. Tyler finding his inner football player when needing to take care of McRobbie is rather amusing. Kathrine Hahn doesn't get a lot to do, but has a confessional at the end that lends a truly unfortunate realization to the twist regarding her own estrangement to her parents that is emotionally potent...it is classic Shymalan, going for the  heartstrings.