For starters, Ed Travis of Cinapse News gave the following, positive notice pertaining to Shyamalan’s continued partnership with Jason Blum and his Blumhouse label:
The limited budgets of Blumhouse have absolutely given M. Night the restrictions that he needed to come back. #SPLIT #FantasticFest
— Ed Travis (@Ed_Travis) September 27, 2016
This isn’t totally dissimilar to the sort of praise M. Night Shyamalan received last year for The Visit, as that film was a small budget / large grossing success, bringing in $98 million on a $5 million budget. Part of that success was, as per usual, coming from audiences who wanted to see what the latest “twist” was in the Shyamalan universe. If this next review from Trace Thurman over at Bloody Disgusting is any indication, then it looks like the Shyamalan Twist is alive and well in Split, as Thurman stated the following:
Good Lord, try not to let anyone spoil the last minute of Shyamalan’s #Split for you. The audience reactions were priceless.
— Trace Thurman (@TracedThurman) September 27, 2016
Twist endings aside, not everyone was happy with the end result that was Split, as VFX artist Heather Buckley provided one of the more critical tweets pertaining to the film. Buckley’s particular concern was, as follows:
#Split. @MNightShyamalan 3 girls kidnapped by a psycho w/ “altars.” James McAvoy’s villain hobbled by the script’s final arc.
— Heather Buckley (@_HeatherBuckley) September 27, 2016
Ultimately, we’d like to think that at the bare minimum, we hope that Split lives up to Lights Camera Austin’s even-keeled assessment:
#SPLIT is M. Night Shyamalan’s best film since SIGNS. I know that’s not saying much but it feels like he’s finally regained his bearings.
— lightscameraaustin (@lightscameraaus) September 27, 2016
Split pits James McAvoy’s Kevin against a handful of high school students that he’s abducted in his cellar. With a whopping 23 separate personalities held in Kevin’s person, his captives will try to outwit him by playing his various personalities against each other. Of course, Kevin and his many moods may not be their greatest threat, as “The Beast” is foretold to be on the rise. With time running out, and hope dwindling fast, our protagonists will fight to stay alive, as they try to stay ahead of the danger that surrounds them. It might be better if you watch the trailer for yourself, which is included below.
Split hopes to turn up the terror, and scare up some early box office dollars, on January 20, 2017