So, before getting into trying to figure out if Split is worth your time or not, you need to decide what type of Shyamalan "fan" you are... that is, of course, if you are still a fan. After starting strong with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, the writing and directing talent of M. Night Shyamalan started to dip in quality until it hit rock bottom, cracked them to bits, sank further into the mantle of the Earth and was nearly consumed by hot magma. I am, of course, referring to The Happening, Last Airbender and After Earth. So, if you've managed to stick around for the hinted resurgence in the last few years, you may actually be surprised to know that it looks like the mature storyteller and horror master is starting to churn out decent flicks once more. But, Split isn't Signs or The Sixth Sense. It has more of an Unbreakable feel more than any of his other films, with a new sense of tension that we haven't felt in a Shyamalan movie in a long time.
Split, as you can probably tell from the trailers, revolves around Kevin (James McAvoy), a man living with twenty-three personalities inside of his mind-- the result of DID (dissociative identity disorder). This is, essentially, the movie's fictional take on schizophrenia. However, Kevin's therapist Dr. Fletcher, an activist for the disease, explains that people with this disorder can manipulate their body chemistry depending on the personality that is emerging at the moment (like one personality being physically allergic to bees when the rest aren't). This is the catalyst of our fear of Kevin. One (or more) of the personalities keep emailing the good doctor, warning her that some of the other personalities are trying to take over in order to release the twenty-fourth personality known to us only as: The Beast. The story happening around this revolves around three teenagers who have been kidnapped by one of Kevin's personalities and held capture in an underground room a la 10 Cloverfield Lane. The main of the three, Casey (The Witch's Any Taylor-Joy), forms a bond with a nine-year-old personality named Hedwig, the least frightening of the personalities looming over the girls.
McAvoy carries the movie on all twenty-three of his shoulders and gives a tour de force of a performance. He's damn near unrecognizable in the film as any one of the emerging personalities. And because the movie rests on his performances, so does the fear and the uneasy tension the audience experiences while watching the film. This is a new type of Shyamalan film. He's not out to jump-scare you, or really even force you to sit there and figure out the mystery leading up to a sudden "twist" at the end of the film. The main point of the film is for you to feel uneasy and fear for each of the girls as you never truly know the motives of any of the personalities. And it really works. I was never really scared watching Split, but I was truly uncomfortable (in a good way) because I just wanted to know what the hell he was doing with the girls and I wanted them to get as far away from them as possible. And, for that, Shyamalan has succeeded in providing one hell of a thriller. The cinematography, as in most of his films, only enhances the discomfort. Intense close-ups, lingering shots that only slightly travel around the space of the screen, giving you a brief taste of what's lurking in the shadows... all compliment the terror surrounding the film.
The writing is also on point here. We're expecting the girls to behave like typical horror-movie tropes. We expect them to try and escape at the wrong time, to scream and yell and cry and act the way no one in this situation would act. And while there could've been more to enhance their characteristics, they definitely aren't damsels in distress. Casey, especially, is very calculating in her approach toward escape. She's been wounded in the past (as we see in a few terrifying flashbacks), so it keeps her grounded and able to see past the fact that they've been kidnapped-- but held for a reason that will keep them alive long enough to formulate a plan to get out. I liked that a lot. Shyamalan has had some serious misfires in the past, but the one thing he's never broken away from is his attention to his characters and providing ones that are unique.
Sure, the movie is completely ludicrous as far as medical accuracy, but if you're able to look past that, then you'll be able to enjoy the film for what it is. And it's not all discomfort and terror, there is a good amount of humor sprinkled in to provide (brief) moments of levity. The only thing you're going to need to do is reserve judgement until the end. There are a few scenes leading up the ending of the film where you're not sure if what's about to happen is going to be scary or stupid. Before making judgement, save those thoughts until the very last frame of the film when it all comes together and makes sense. And yes, there is a "twist", I guess... but it's not the big reveal that he's had in previous movies. Don't watch the movie waiting for everything to hinge upon a "twist" because it doesn't happen, but what does end up happening at the end is a bit surprising and a lot satisfying. After The Visit and now Split, it does look like M. Night Shyamalan is on his way back up to the horror ladder. If he can keep writing mature thrillers like this one, he may once rid the near-decade long stain on his good name.
B
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