2. The Visit

“I really, really loved the latest found-footage-style M. Night Shyamalan film” is a sentence I never thought I would say in my life until I saw The Visit. The Visit surprised me in every way imaginable and was quite possibly the most fun I’ve had in a theater all year after Mad Max: Fury Road (which would have made this list if it was an actual horror film, but I dare not make the same mistake I made last year with Godzilla). Seriously though, the audience reactions were fantastic. We’ve all come to expect a twist from Shyamalan films, and The Visit does have one. It is simple, yet effective, and I confess that I did not see it coming at all. The attempts at misdirection Shyamalan uses work wonders for the film. Of course, one great twist does not a movie make, and that is where The Visit’s real strength lies: in its characters. Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie are great in their roles as the grandparents, but it’s the children who steal the show. Ed Oxenbould’s rapping Tyler has been a point of contention with audiences, and I can sort of see why, but he came across as endearing to this viewer. Olivia DeJonge was also excellent as Becca (though her character often seemed a little too smart for her age, but what do I know?). The Visit is the comeback from Shyamalan that no one was waiting for, but it definitely earns its place on this list.