I’ve seen a fair amount of M. Night Shyamalan movies, including Knock at the Cabin which I reviewed. And others, like The Visit, The Village, Split, Sixth Sense… The dude has an incredible amount of above-average movies. But none of his really blow me away.

I was expecting the same with this movie going into it. A really cool premise. This guy thrives at creating a good movie premise, like Split and Knock at the Cabin. For some reason, these movies never finish strong, and I was interested to see if this followed the same path.

Did it? Well, just keep scrolling. I’m not gonna tell you up here.

A Unique Movie

Like I said, it’s very unique. Most of M. Night’s movies are. The trailers were very memorable, but I didn’t care enough to see it back then. I had low expectations going into it, especially for the last third. Getting a good beginning is easy. The first 2/3 is the easy part.

The kids are definitely a good way to start because A) you wanna root for them and B) they’re the best part of the movie. Thomas McKenzie was in Last Night in Soho which I loved. I didn’t even know she was in this, but once again she carried the movie at times.

There were other good actors, too. The kids were definitely the bright spot, and this unique plot ensured they’d make or break the movie. I think their performances keep this from being a total bust.

The group dynamics on the beach are really intriguing, too. This made the first half gripping, but there’s no immediate threat. There are a few hints, but nothing pressing or dangerous. It’s a disguised slow burner, really. Which is fine. I like slow burners. I just wasn’t expecting it.

A few moments are jaw-dropping. Legitimately. And when I’m writing a review, that’s really what I come back to. Those moments bump this up near Knock at the Cabin for me, even if the movie overall isn’t as good.

Also A Weird Movie

There are some weird quirks about this movie. They didn’t bother me, really. But they took me out of the story.

First, the beach is super nice. Obviously. But everyone seems like they’re a mile from the water at all times. Who goes to the beach and then sits 30 yards from the water? Like what are you doing? There’s so much sand between them and the ocean at all times.

Secondly, the dialogue is forced at times. Or nonsense or just weird. It fits into a group of horror movies I like to call: Fun With Friends. Basically, movies where the dialogue is so dumb at times you can laugh and say “Haha, so dumb,” and then be scared a little bit in between. It’s fun! With friends!

Thirdly, the camera. It’s constantly moving. Which is interesting at first, but it’s hard to read facial expressions. Also, they cut away from the gore sometimes, which I don’t like. Now, I don’t like gore! But the cutaways are lazy. And when they don’t cut away, the gore looks so incredibly dumb. So it’s inconsistent. They should’ve just done all cutaways, I guess.

Those are some weird quirks. Most of M. Night’s movies have a few things which knock the overall score down a few points. This one is no different.

Overall: 6.3/10

So why only 6.3 and not a 7-something?

There’s just not enough in the final third of the movie. The twists aren’t there after the initial “Wow!” from the accelerated aging. The dialogue and characters are forced at times, and after the first half it never really gets better.

I really did enjoy this movie, but I can’t give it a higher score because it doesn’t wrap up well. Same with Knock at the Cabin. Whatever magic twisty button M. Night had, it seems broken now. Still makes solid movies, though. This one is worth a watch.

6.3/10