Filmology Rating: 2.75 out of 4

Split, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is a story about a man named Kevin (James McAvoy) who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. His psychiatrist has diagnosed at least 23 different identities within Kevin. One day, one of Kevin’s personalities kidnaps three teenage girls.

Night Shyamalan has been very hit or miss throughout the last decade or so. He started off very strong by giving us movies such as: Signs, Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable (he even was a writer for Stuart Little which is a little random for him) However in the last decade, he has given us a lot of duds like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. Thankfully he finally rebounded with his prior film the Visit. Anyway! I say all that to say this, when M. Night can be very hit or miss. I am very pleased to say that Split was a definite hit!

First things first, we need to talk about James McAvoy. He was absolutely fantastic. He has been in so many great movies such as the most recent X-Men movies, Wanted and Atonement, but this was by far his best work. The funny thing is…. he wasn’t the original person cast for this role, Leonardo DiCaprio was! DiCaprio was originally cast but then had to back out of the project when filming of the Revenant went months past what it was supposed to and he also wanted to finish his documentary Before the Flood as well. Leo I'm sure would have done a great job because Leo is arguably the best actor alive right now; however James McAvoy did such an incredible job that I can’t imagine anyone else playing this part. He completely changed his mannerisms, voice, even slightly altered the way he looked through different ways of presenting his body and face. I cannot say enough good things about what he did throughout the film. Complimenting McAvoy was another young talent. I love a good thriller/horror movie where there is actually a smart character and that was very much the case here. Anya Taylor-Joy did a wonderful job. She is a very young but talented actress that really shined in the movie VVitch earlier this year and once again did a great job.

Now it has been a while since there has really been an M. Night movie that I have really loved. The Visit was a step up from the previous stuff he’s done but it didn’t strike a chord with me. This one did. I loved the story! It was spooky, it was terrifying to think about what it would be like to be one of those girls, and most importantly it was engaging. I was fascinated with Kevin and his multiple personalities. The concept of having those personalities battle for time and priority and then doing a heinous act without the other parts of you knowing was great. The slow building and development of its characters was brilliant as well.

Now for those of you who know M. Night’s work, there is always a twist. The twist was fantastic. There is the obvious twist that the movie builds up to and then there is an OMG twist. I won’t tell you what it is obviously but know that it is great. Some of you might not understand it (you'll know why if you see it) so if you see it and are confused, message me and I will explain!

Split was a well-rounded horror/thriller that was a ton of fun. I will for sure want to watch this again and again. Really the only issue I have is that I feel M. Night failed the main character (Anya Taylor-Joy) right at the end. I would’ve liked to see a little more out of her in the final scene but overall it didn’t take anything away from the enjoyment of the movie. This one is a must see!

Rating: See It

-Nick