The Visit is a 2015 horror film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. He co-produced the film with Jason Blum. It stars Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie and Kathryn Hahn.
The storyline focuses on two children are sent to their grandparents house to spend a week with their grandparents while their single mom goes on a relaxing vacation with her boyfriend. One of the kids, Becca, decides to film a documentary about her grandparents in order to help her Mum reconnect with her parents and also find out some things about her parents as well. While filming the documentary, however, Becca and her little brother, Tyler, discover a dark secret about their grandparents.
The Visit started filming on 19th February 2014, under a provisional title Sundowning. The title is a reference to an increased restlessness and confusion that some dementia patients suffer in the afternoon and evening.
During auditions thousands of children performed for the two lead roles of Becca and Tyler. However, as the director later admitted is was a total fluke that he selected the actors for the roles which went to two unknown adolescent actors from Austrailia, Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould.
Throughout the editing stage of the film, director, M. Night Shyamalan, admited he had trouble keeping the tone consistent. He said that the first edit resembled an art house film more than a horror. The second cut went the opposite way and became more of a comedy. He eventually settled between the two and made a thriller, which he believes helped to tie-in the different elements of the film.
The Visit received fairly mixed reviews. Praise was lavished on the performances Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould, the script and overall atmosphere of the film. Criticism came from the inconsistent tone, which many found a conflict between horror and comedy. This is constant with the problems the director found during editing.
Despite the reviews the film was a huge box office success grossing $98,450,062 in worldwide box office receipts. Incredibly, its opening weekend box office receipts were $25,427,560 against an estimated budget of £5m. The film is seen as a possible comeback for M. Night Shyamalan.
Film Details
Title
The Visit
Year of Film
2015
Director
M. Night Shyamalan
Starring
Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Horror | Thriller
Box Office
Budget: $5,000,000 (Estimated)
Opening Weekend: $25,427,560 (USA)
Gross: $98,450,062 (Worldwide)
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