Shyamalan builds unease from the inside out in ‘The Visit’ | The Haunted Column

If you think sleepovers at your grandparents' house are always warm, fuzzy experiences, think again. M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Visit’ takes that very idea and flips it into a nightmare, one that’s quiet, eerie, and far too close to home.

The film begins with two siblings, Becca and Tyler, heading off to spend a week with their estranged grandparents. Their mother hasn’t seen her parents in over a decade, but something about this trip feels like the right time for reconnection. Becca, the older sibling and an aspiring documentary filmmaker, decides to record the entire visit, a choice that gives the film its found-footage style and helps us see everything through the kids’ eyes.

At first, everything seems perfectly normal. The farmhouse is quaint, the food is great, and Nana and Pop Pop are warm and welcoming, if a bit old-fashioned. But then, little by little, something starts to feel off. Nana begins acting strange at night, wandering the halls and scratching at the walls. Pop Pop has bursts of anger, disappears into the shed for hours, and starts talking to things that aren’t there. Becca and Tyler are told not to come out of their room after 9:30 p.m., and what begins as curiosity soon turns into full-blown dread.

This is classic Shyamalan — the slow build-up, the atmospheric tension, the sense that something is deeply wrong even if you can’t quite put your finger on it. After the big-budget missteps of ‘The Happening’ and ‘After Earth’, ‘The Visit’ marked a quieter return to form for the director. It’s simple, contained, and all the more terrifying for it.

What sets ‘The Visit’ apart from your usual horror fare is its strange but effective mix of humour and horror. Tyler, the younger brother, is a mini comic relief machine, throwing down silly raps and reacting to the madness around him in the most real-kid way possible. The sibling dynamic between him and Becca feels honest and grounded, which makes the horror feel more personal when things escalate.

And escalate they do. The film’s third act delivers a twist that’s classic Shyamalan — sharp, unexpected, and capable of making you rethink everything you’ve seen so far. It’s not just about jump scares or creepy grandparents. It’s about trust, guilt, family, and the stories we tell ourselves to avoid facing the truth.

‘The Visit’ may not be the loudest horror film you’ll watch this year, but it’s definitely one that will linger in your mind. It takes something familiar — a family visit — and slowly drains it of all safety and warmth. If you’re a fan of slow-burning psychological horror with a nasty little twist, this one is worth your time.
The movie is available to stream on JioHotstar.