Like many other M. Night Shyamalan fans, I haven't gotten too excited for any of his latest projects. But something in the trailer for The Visit did make me a little hopeful-check out the part at 2:18
(Blogger is being weird and not embedding the trailer right so here's the link)
From CinemaBlend, where Brent McKnight calls it possibly Shyamalan's "weirdest movie yet":
"This does, however, have elements reminiscent of a modern day fairy tale—that scene of the grandmother asking the young girl to get in the oven is straight out of Hansel and Gretel, all she needs is a house made of sweet treats. That part is definitely right up Shyamalan’s alley, and gives this the potential to be a kind of synthesis of the no-frills horror of Blumhouse and Shyamalan’s sense of magical realism."
You can read the basic plot on wikipedia if you don't mind spoilers. Sadly, it doesn't seem to have too many fairy tale connections other than the mention of the oven, and the fact that it's a brother and sister in a creepy house. But Rule #2 below seems suspiciously witchy...maybe there are other little details hidden throughout the film?
I really don't trust Shyamalan anymore. I lost faith in him long ago.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking off topic; have you read From Girl to Goddess: the Heroine's Journey through Myth and Legend by Valerie Estelle Frankel? its an awesome read that talks about the female side of the Hero's journey. You should read and that review it here, please? It was one of the few books that made me a male feminist.
The fairy tale reference makes me a little more interested in seeing how this movie is received, although I'm still not getting my hopes up.
DeleteI have not read it! I'll look for it in my library! I'm not as bothered by the concept of the "passive" heroine as many feminists are; partly because I don't think they're actually that passive in context, and also because there are many tales of females as active heroes, but I do love gathering examples of those types of tales and wish they were more well known! It really helps to see Snow White and Sleeping Beauty alongside Kate Crackernuts and Li Chi to realize folklore itself is not as one sided as we might think.
The children are sent there by their mother...which I thought was a reference to the archetypal wicked stepmother. The twist actually incorporates a bit from Little Red Riding Hood, what with the, well....I won't spoil it....
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of fairy tales in film, here's a news stories that involves an unearthed scandal about Disney's Cinderella: http://viralpirate.com/when-cinderella-fought-the-spanish-government/
Definitely sounding more intriguing...if the fairy tale references are intentional then I'm more interested in this movie!
DeleteAnd, thanks for the link! I might have to share this, I hadn't heard of this before!
There are several references to fairy tales. The grandmother is constantly feeding the children--as if to "fatten them up". When the children discovered the pile of diapers in the shed I assumed they were from previous imprisoned children, and imagined them chained to the floor like lambs for veal. The episode with Becca being asked to climb into the oven is clearly an allusion to Hansel and Grettel. The House itself sort of reminded me of the style of architecture you would see represented in a ginger bread house, though to be fair I don't know much about architecture. Then there's the allusions to Little Red Riding Hood. The grandmother chasing them on all floors, scratching at the walls, and Becca's red sweater. A couple brief allusions to Goldie Locks are made when, first, grandma tells Becca that she'd like to be a grizzly bear, and second, when Becca makes a brief confessional into the camera wearing a bright yellow sweater with her long blonde locks draped over her shoulders. Also, she seems to be an especially picky filmmaker, bossing Tyler around to make her film "just right". The film itself struck me as an allusion to the trail of bread crumbs Hansel and Grettel left to find their way home.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! It makes me wonder though...with the grandmother being linked to basically every fairy tale villain, does the movie go into her backstory and how she became so evil, or is she just there to be scary?
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