The thing I found out (to my dismay) that I did not know before going to the theater was that a lot of this movie was shot in the long over-used and abused "home movie/shaky cam" format. If I had come in the theater in the middle of the movie, I might have assumed I had accidentally wandered into the 7th, or whatever, sequel to Paranormal Activity. And to add insult to injury M Night is about 8 years late to the party for that trick. Or was it suppose to be some type of irony or mocking of the standard horror movie fare? Perhaps this once creative director has finally succumbed to audience expectations --if all you want is cookie cutter, unimaginative, thematically barren, shaky cam, scary movies then here you go......
Another let down for me was that in his earlier movies there were always a number of positive sub-themes running through the movies that I found as interesting, if not more so, than the obvious scary movie theme. I failed to find any such redeeming parallel plot lines in The Visit. Again maybe he is just simplifying his movies to match his audience's wishes.
On the upside, I did find this movie to be something of an improvement over his most recent efforts. There were a few good chuckles. There were a couple of OK jump scenes. There was some tension here and there, but overall still a disappoint for me.
Of course, I eventually liked The Village and Signs a lot better after I had watched them several times on DVD. Maybe there is a jewel in the rough hiding here, just waiting to be found. Rating a 5.5 of 10 on first impression though.
Another let down for me was that in his earlier movies there were always a number of positive sub-themes running through the movies that I found as interesting, if not more so, than the obvious scary movie theme. I failed to find any such redeeming parallel plot lines in The Visit. Again maybe he is just simplifying his movies to match his audience's wishes.
On the upside, I did find this movie to be something of an improvement over his most recent efforts. There were a few good chuckles. There were a couple of OK jump scenes. There was some tension here and there, but overall still a disappoint for me.
Of course, I eventually liked The Village and Signs a lot better after I had watched them several times on DVD. Maybe there is a jewel in the rough hiding here, just waiting to be found. Rating a 5.5 of 10 on first impression though.