In this sense, few people are more willing to accept this challenge than M. Knight Shamaran. Long before he became the standard for bad movies that everyone respects, he was also a popular seed candidate for the "next Spielberg/Hitchcock"-but in the "Sixth Sense", "Undead" and "Heaven" After the two and a half "good" thrillers of "Mega", turning from self-indulgence to a big production screw, Shamaran quickly transformed into a catastrophic player who pitted six major production companies. Although we have never been far away from our sight (the frequency of a two-year movie is unmovable), "Mysterious Village", "Venus in the Water", "Last Qizong" and "Return to Earth" make people feel sigh:
Where does the time of good movies go? the?
Shyamalan talent and talent is it all hype?
his early works are his own shot it?
do the authors also his father ghost ghostwriter do?
then in 2015, an ultra-low-cost, no big stars The joined thriller appeared. In many ways, "Visiting the Fright" is really a surprise—especially when the wave of pseudo-documentary horror/thrillers set off by the "Ghost Record" series has been destroyed by (myself). And it is such an unexpected thriller that pretends to be a ghost, heralding the official recovery of Shamaran's career.
And the first step in this recovery process is "Split".
Although there are many "coincidences" with the real story "Twenty Four Billy" in 1977 (the protagonist has 24 personalities, and finally escaped legal sanctions, there are also 3 female victims), but "Split" It's not a biographical movie, but a psychologically horrified secret room like "10 Clover Road." As Shamarin’s second low-budget film in a row, "Split" focuses on three teenage girls trapped indoors, facing the life threat of a dangerous element with dissociative identity disorder.
Without a high budget or too dramatic plot, Shamaran regained the frightening atmosphere of earlier works in "Split". Although the ending of "The Undead" is not perfect (as was the case in the previous one), the film is still tense and exciting. The biggest contributor is James McAvoy's amazingly stable performance. Excellent conceptual transformation and stable plot performance. All in all, "Split" is a delightful movie.
Shamaran never intended to hide his adoration of Hitchcock: in "Split", we can clearly see the shadow of "Cry". But if only in terms of the degree of suspense, "Split" is not as mystic as "No. 10 Clover Road". We were pleasantly surprised to see that without Shamaran’s iconic suspicion and misleading thinking, Shamaran itself still possesses considerable strength. Although BGM is rarely used in the whole movie, the atmosphere and rhythm are completely under control. There is no sign of confusion.
The most eye-catching aspect of "Split" is the protagonist. It needs to be pointed out that this is not only the credit of James McAvoy, but also the dedication of Shamaran in the screenwriting work: one is easy to come by, the other is wonderful. "Split" does not foolishly put 24 personalities as a revolving lantern, but instead concentrates on a few distinguished personalities. In this way, when the audience sees various personalities for the first time, they can easily distinguish them by dress and behavior. In the later stage, they can only rely on the subtle expressions of the characters: such as the violent obsessive-compulsive patient Dennis, who likes Kanye. His 9-year-old child Headway, British woman Patricia, and fashion designer Barry. Although different roles only require simple stereotypes in performance, James McAvoy’s freely reflexive performance merges these different roles into a single and threatening character. What we see is no longer a different role, but a complete person controlled alternately by different personalities. Especially when Dennis pretended to be a stable dominant personality, Kevin was questioned by doctors. Yimei's nuanced changes in the eyes, facial muscles and the curvature of the mouth corners were clean and natural, which was really amazing.
If compared with "Fatal ID" and "Closed Island", we will find that "Split" has a rare humanistic care in this kind of thriller: the villain with split personality is no longer a one-sided and inhumane murderer. , There is also an old doctor played by Betty Barkley, who firmly believes that patients with schizophrenia also have great potential, and this belief is finally sublimated and combined with "Undead", becoming another member of the realist superhero theme. "The broken ones are more evolved", this "X-Men"-style declaration, released by his father Zhan Yimei of "The Crowd" in the climax of the whole movie, obviously has its own unique meaning.
Although the themes of suspense and darkness run through the entire movie, and involve everything from kidnapping to pedophilia to cannibalism, "Split" still has relatively relaxing moments, such as the many interactions between Headway’s personality and the heroine. And the body humor of dancing gracefully. These contents help to ease the tension and make the story more receptive to the audience without creating a sense of distance due to excessive horror.
As mentioned earlier, "Split" is an important return of Shamaran's personal brand. After many years, the name of M. Knight Shamaran can finally be associated with a good movie, which is really delightful. The combination of James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy is exactly the reappearance of Bruce Willis and Hayley Joe Osment 17 years ago.
The so-called high quality is not expensive, we once again thank Shamaran for his low budget and casting direction in "Split", as well as the limited presentation method-it is this kind of thinking that can inspire Shamaran's greatest creative inspiration. Although "Split" is full of dark ideas and concepts, it captures the audience with real charm and incorporates enough humor.
As for whether the thriller creators on the other side of the ocean can learn from it and how much they can do, it is another topic.
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