If you’re a fan of horror or thriller films, you’ve probably heard of the director M. Night Shyamalan. M. Night has directed some of the most popular thrillers of our generation, including The Sixth Sense, Signs, and several more. In his early days of directing, M. Night has an obviously bright future. Somewhere along the line though, he lost his luster (so to speak). Films like “The Happening” fell face first into irrelevancy, as each new movie seemed to get worse and worse. Fans of his work were confused as to how a once great director had fallen off so harshly.
It’s then, with great pleasure, that I tell you M. Night has returned to form with Split. This PG-13 horror/thriller marks the true return of M. Night’s signature “twist and turn” style of story telling. While it isn’t going to win any Oscars, Split marks a significant point in his career. If you’re familiar with his work, you know that nothing is truly what it seems. Now that we know M. Night is back in action, let’s see how “Split” works out on it’s own.
Split follows the story of three young girls who are abducted and taken captive by a mysterious man. After being locked away in a dingy room with no windows, the girls must come together to try and figure out just why they’ve been taken captive. Split is a hard story to review, as revealing too much will tread into spoiler territory. I want to avoid that, as I believe “Split” is best viewed with little to no information beforehand.
View trailer of SPLIT.
The performances, however, I can talk about. While the three captive girls fall in line with the script pretty quickly, there is a stand out performance from Anya Taylor-Joy who plays Casey. Casey isn’t like the other girls, as she favors quiet contemplation. It’s obvious that she’s troubled, and we get to see a bit of why this is through flashbacks. However, the true meat of the film lies in James McAvoy’s performance as Kevin. Kevin is a mentally ill man trying to live a normal life despite his 23 different personalities. While Split isn’t necessarily a true depiction of multiple personality disorder, it’s competent in its depiction. It never tries to demonize the disorder, rather demonizing the personalities that are born from it. Once again, I don’t want to delve too deep into the different personalities to avoid spoilers. However, each personality is like a different person entirely. McAvoy blends in and out of characters like a master of disguise, truly making you believe that there’s a different mind within each personality. From a naive little boy to a strict older woman, Kevin has a lot of different opinions and ideas battling within him at all times.
The only other major player in Split is Dr. Karen Fletcher (played by Betty Buckley), Kevin’s psychotherapist. She embodies the audience in a way; sensing that something is off with Kevin far before he’s ready to come forth with it. It’s important here to note that the film mainly takes place in Kevin’s compound, Casey’s flashbacks, and Dr. Fletcher’s office. It’s an intimate film in its location, feeling almost like a “one location” movie like Phonebooth at times. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that Casey’s flashbacks were added in toward the end of the film’s production, as a way to break up the monotony that comes with one location films.
Without spoiling anything major, that’s truly all I can really tell you about the film’s plot. The performances are never unbelievable. Even the supporting actresses playing the other two girls play their role well. Any mistakes are well made up for when McAvoy is on screen; he absolutely steals the show. It’s truly through his performance that we gain all the tension and fear of the film. Kevin and his 23 different personalities can be truly menacing, and it’s all thanks to McAvoy’s performance.
View clip of M. Night Shyamalan and McAvoy discussing the movie below.
That brings me to a small classification issue I have with Split. While it might be frightening for some viewers, I struggle to class this as a “horror” film. Split reminds me more of a true suspense film, where tension is the true antagonist, rather than jump scares or blood. There is a bit of blood in a few scenes, but the film is generally bloodless. You won’t be covering your eyes due to excess gore, or become startled because of a sudden loud noise. No, Split does suspense properly. Maybe that’s why I found myself enjoying it so much. It takes a truly talented writer and director to forego cheap scares in favor of true tension. It’s something I never expected from M. Night after his dip in quality.
If you’re a fan of M. Night and desperately wanted to see his return to form, go see Split. While there isn’t a massively mind blowing twist at the end that turns the story on its head, there’s a pretty massive plot piece that pops up in the closing minutes. It’s something that truly can’t be discussed without spoiling it, but it hints towards some pretty great things to come. If Split is any indication, we might be witnessing the return of M. Night. By proxy, this might see the return of the true suspense film. Both of these things are great in my opinion, and Split is the catalyst for these opportunities. While it’s not going to trick you quite like The Sixth Sense did, Split is still a great time at the cinema. Held up by a great performance from James McAvoy, the film marks a distinctive period in suspense genre. Split earns a pretty hefty recommendation, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did.
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