The Visit, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, tells the tale of two teenage siblings who notice their grandparents acting very strange during their first visit. Rebecca (played by Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (played by Ed Oxenbould). At the beginning of any horror movie, the scenario is depicted as innocent and sweet: the grandparents live in rural Pennsylvania, where there is little danger, and seem like any typical elderly couple. During their first few encounters with the siblings, the grandmother bakes, just like any other would, and the grandfather enjoys woodworking, which is accepted as a normal hobby. Everything is calm and it seems like the siblings are going to have a peaceful vacation with their grandparents… until the audience is introduced to scenes that they just can’t explain: Rebecca finds her grandmother projectile vomiting while running around the house naked!

Overall, The Visit has more enjoyable qualities than meets the eye. Initially, one might think the movie would be easily forgettable as a typical “paranormal” movie, with uncreative ghosts and demons, and too many jumpscares. As Shyamalan is known for, the plot took a pleasant twist when it turned out the grandparents weren’t possessed. Despite the misleading trailers and snippets, this isn’t a ghost or demon story at all; merely an amusing yet terribly frightening turn of events for the siblings and their grandparents. The “grandparents” in their house were actually runaways from the local mental hospital who killed Rebecca and Tyler’s actual grandparents. This plot-twist made the film much more realistic, which in turn, made it terrifying, since the plot’s realism suggested that this had a higher chance of happening than intruding ghosts and demons.

Despite the exciting twist, one aspect of the movie generally off-putting was Tyler, the teenage brother. He is portrayed as a 13 year old white boy who seems to believe he has a knack for rapping. Throughout the film, he makes awkward raps and attempts to act “ghetto”, which appeared very embarrassing and almost insulting towards minorities. Asides from that, The Visit is an entertaining film that is worth seeing at least once for its realism and uniqueness.