M. Night Shyamalan has one of the most iconic career trajectories in the history of cinema. Every person on Earth knows that he made two excellent movies, one controversial follow-up, and over a decade of nonsense. It is, at this point, old hat to dunk on his current work while reflecting on his former successes. Thankfully, humanity has developed a new cultural response to the director. The Visit kicked off the running trend of being excited and disappointed by each new Shyamalan project.
The Visit Lets M. Night Shyamalan Stop By HBO’s Top Ten
M. Night Shyamalan is, in many ways, the Sonic the Hedgehog of the film industry. This metaphor made a little more sense before they started making Sonic movies, but it still works. Sonic starred in a few beloved classics that seemed to redefine the medium. He then appeared in a long, insufferable march of half-formed garbage. While every work has its defenders, most of Sonic’s journeys were tough to enjoy. By 2008, forum posters coined the Sonic Cycle. They noticed the ritualistic pattern of fans becoming excited, announcing a return to form, experiencing the project, and declaring Sonic dead again. Ergo, the Shyamalan cycle. I saw the mockery reach its apex with After Earth. The jokes weren’t as fun. The Visit became the first “return to form” that quickly revealed itself as another dud. Split, Glass, Old, and Knock at the Cabin all enjoyed the same rise and fall.
On some level, Shyamalan is experiencing some sort of resurgence on a purely financial level. The quality of his films remains pretty grim, but they often make money. The Visit made $98.5 million against a minuscule $5 million budget. It was Shyamalan’s first collaboration with Jason Blum, who made his filmmaking tactic legendary. In truth, the only interesting thing about The Visit is its place in Shyamalan’s filmography. It’s mostly a movie about old people being scary. Two kids stay with their grandparents, only to find out that there’s something else going on. I won’t spoil the twist, but I will spoil the fact that it is pretty underwhelming. It’s a tight 94-minute experience with a handful of embarrassing jump scares and a mountain of terrible comedy. It probably left several pre-teens at mildly spooked at sleepovers, but that’s about all it offers.
The Visit is currently the ninth-most-watched film on HBO Max. When a movie reaches that questionable milestone, it often does so with the support of people all over the world. The Visit seems to be a favorite exclusively among viewers in Eastern Europe. Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania proudly placed the film among their national top ten lists. M. Night Shyamalan might never reclaim his former glory, but he’s apparently huge in Europe. The Shyamalan cycle is fun, but we have to learn to treat every new work like something new. Maybe there’s no such thing as a return to form. The Visit is just visiting HBO’s top ten, but it’s not really worth a look back.
