NEW BLOOD: SPLIT

SPLIT
Universal/Blumhouse
2017 Color
117 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
James McAvoy, Haley Lu Richardson and Anya Taylor-Joy  Star.
Written and Directed by M. Night Shyalaman
Rated PG-13 for violence, gore and adult themes.

I've been excited to see this movie ever since the trailers dropped. I found the premise so intriguing and it looked to be executed stylishly in a creeptacular fashion and than Shyamalan's name dropped and suddenly so did my excitement. After being punished with cinematic atrocities such as The Last Airbender, The Visit, The Happening and the abysmal After Earth, all of which had cool trailers, I wasn't expecting much. And than as the film neared release a ton of positive buzz started to emerge. But despite the excitement I still had my reservations. Well I'm happy to say I was wrong. Not only is Split the best of Shyamalan's career it's also an amazingly original, disturbing and nightmarish cinematic experience.

 The movie centers on three young women who are abducted by a man with 24 multiple personalities. I don't wanna say too much as it will completely ruin the film for you. But an abundance of sweaty palm inducing, edge of your seat suspense is generated as it marches towards it's gritty, illuminating, surprisingly fantastic finale. Now I don't wanna hype the proceedings up too much, it's not perfect. I do wish they would have built up two of the young women who fell to the wayside and the twist ending is both awesome and slightly disappointing but only for me. However, there is so much to appreciate here in this amazing cinematic experience. The subtext of the film is powerful and unexpected bringing up issues of abuse and the effects of it not just on the individual but society. And the film's message about people who have gone through dark times being purer of heart than those who haven't is really something powerful that so many people can identify with. 

But don't get me wrong this is a horror movie and it's truly horrifying. In fact the way in which the subject matter is explored and some of the visuals are so disturbing it's hard to believe this film received a PG-13 rating. The film is a solid showcase of just how friggin talented James McAvoy is (so hot here btw). I believe this film will be a break out role for him and will award him and garner him the much deserved stardom he deserves. He seamlessly moves through each of  the personalities believably giving each one them their own mannerisms and traits. It's truly inspiring to watch.

 Also so good is Anya Taylor-Joy which makes three solid performances in a row from this exciting new actress (The Witch, Morgan). But the real surprise her is Shylaman. After a string of disappointments he seems to have reestablished himself as a major force. Now truth be told this film may be a fluke and I myself will still be hesitant when I see his name on something. But this is a magnificent accomplishment nonetheless which I'm sure will be celebrated by audiences for years to come. ****.5/5