This was pretty awful.

The entire movie was trying to dictate something to the audience, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

At no point do you feel anything at all for the characters. The kidnapped girls and Casey's dad are not developed at all, so their deaths don't carry any weight.

The one smart character (the doctor) doesn't act rationally. The whole lecture sequence made me cringe. The doctor is originally presented as someone who approaches her patients methodically. She is perceptive and crafty. Then she gives a Skype lecture where she pleads with a group of scientists to believe her. She doesn't present proof or make a convincing argument, even though she _must_ have that capability.

Then in dangerous situations she shuts down. While she can write out his name, she doesn't call it out or check for his presence. She knows how dangerous he is. She suspects him. She even stuffs the tissue into the keyhole, but she still doesn't call out his name to snap him out of it.

The girls are also in an unrealistic state while trying to escape. In most other movies, people in this type of situation are either 1) competent, 2) paralyzed by fear, or 3) completely frantic and flailing. These girls were none of those. Their maddeningly slow pace was inconsistent with the terror they must be feeling.

The whole parallel with Casey's uncle (and being imprisoned after being "released" into his custody) didn't match well with the main story. Why did she pull the trigger on The Beast but not her uncle? At first it seems like both stories were parallels, where at this point in her life she actually overcomes her fear and confronts her aggressor. But then she just goes back to her uncle. It's very unclear what her character is feeling and what she's going through.

Also, the fact that The Beast is immune to gunshots and has superhuman strength is out of nowhere. The story abides in the natural world before derailing into the supernatural. While the supernatural element should be a big reveal, it wasn't. His powers build up step by step, so there is no surprise factor. The lack of surprise implies that we should expect this. Yet the world presented doesn't give us any hint before the build up. Tying it into _Unbreakable_ at the end was jarring as well. The tie-in explains more about the movie's universe, but nothing about the movie's tone or world-building mirrored _Unbreakable_.

McAvoy's performances were decent but spread very thin. So many characters (8?) are introduced that none of them were well developed. The other thirteen aren't explored at all, which was pretty disappointing. MNS might be saving them for the sequel, but I doubt most viewers will be willing to sit through another ordeal of this magnitude.

The only success of this movie is when Casey goes for a gun and the non-Beast personalities plead for their lives one by one. It makes you think about the twenty-some actual people who would die if she pulled the trigger in self defense. Unfortunately, this was the only redeeming quality of the movie and not enough to justify a watch.

"The broken are the more evolved"

"Split" isn't just a return to form from Shamalamadingdong, but an emotionally powerhouse of a thriller. Anyone who watched the trailer and think they have an idea of what it's gonna be, think again. Putting forward this guys history in films; this surprised the heck out of me.

The cinematography was excellent, same guy who did "It Follows" which was pretty neat. The film had the right balance of tone with comedy and horrific. One minute you're laughing at the intentional comedic scenes, but quickly change when you start to over think.

James McAvoy is absolutely fantastic in this movie. Every personality has a unique purpose to them and McAvoy makes the whole thing believable. Especially when he plays a little boy named Hedwig, who you actually care for and the childlike behavior McAvoy was done so perfectly. The scene when he starts dancing, had me laughing so hard when I saw it, but when I heard M. Night talk about the meaning behind it, it gave me chills. It's about a person dying and coming back to life.

Then again, "Kanye West is my main man".

Anya Taylor Joy was great in this too. Really impressing me from what I've seen from her so far, and might be the new face of horror movies. Her character arc was the most compelling part of the film and ties in very well with McAvoy characters. It's too bad Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula, the other captured girls, couldn't keep up with Anya. They performances were pretty bad and easily the worst part of the film.

It's not just them, some of the supporting actors who thankfully don't have much screen time, deliver such wooden performances. The film also suffers from M. Night's trademark, terribly written exposition. Other than that, this was a pretty solid film.

Overall rating: Welcome back M. Night Shyamalan, for real this time.

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James McAvoy plays Kevin, a man with a genetic disease which allows him to have multiple personalities. His trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), knows 23 of them, but there's one hidden from everyone who desires to dominate over all the others. Compelled by one of his personalities, Kevin abducts three girls, where Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) becomes their leader to try and escape the "crazy" man.

Is this the return to form by M. Night Shyamalan, who has been struggling for more than a decade to release a major success? Is Split the movie that brings him back to the spotlight?

Once again, Shyamalan's storytelling is very original, unconventional and ultimately mind-blowing. Instead of establishing everything the audience needs to know about the characters right at the beginning, he gradually develops them, giving them haunting backstories and spreading parts of it throughout the runtime. That said, this film isn't for everyone. The audience needs to trust Shyamalan and be patient. Really patient. Don't start taking notes about something that you think it's negative because once you reach the third act, everything changes and suddenly it all makes sense. The screenplay is not as twisty as Unbreakable, for example, but it demands absolute attention in order to catch up on all the things that matter (and the ones that don't, as well).

The production and editing team have to be congratulated due to their seamless work. From the camera work to the extended one-take sequences, as well as the environment surrounding the characters, everything feels real and looks amazing. The soundtrack ... Let me just say that this element is so, but so much relevant to the conclusion of this movie. I can't really say anything else without spoiling the ending, so I'll leave a note after my rating at the end of the review with a MAJOR SPOILER.

As for the cast, I'll start with the man that I honestly think should have received an Oscar nomination: James McAvoy. You know, there's a big difference in portraying a non-fiction character instead of a fiction one: concerning the former, you can't really escape the true nature of the person you are playing, but with the latter, as an actor/actress, you have to deliver yourself 100% to the role for it to be believable ... And God, does McAvoy deliver! He gives 200% in what could be his best performance to date. Do you think Andy Serkis had problems portraying both Gollum and Sméagol at the same time? Well, imagine 7 ... or 8 characters. I lost the count. All in all, James McAvoy, sir, congratulations! You are superb!

Anya Taylor-Joy is also incredible as Casey! Her character has the most intriguing story of the three girls, and she's the one who assumes the leadership of the group once the kidnap occurs. Her initially unknown past helps her through the traumatic situation, but it's really her rather captivating backstory that grabbed my attention. It's fundamental to the understanding of the ending and Anya does a terrific job. I also want to give a small praise to Betty Buckley for a beautiful and necessary interpretation of Dr. Fletcher, a character that offers the audience some knowledge of Kevin's disease.

As for the other two kidnapped girls, well ... They're my main issue with the film since they don’t have a good reason to be there. Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula) aren't the main characters, and they don't have that much screen time, but their dialogue still feels extremely forced and filled with a lot of nonsense. The ending of the story might not be as twisty as in other Shyamalan's installments, but I hope that people don't give up to false expectations. The classic Shyamalan's twisty ending isn't a necessary attribute of his movies, but the truth is that the twist is not the one you think it is. Once again, the note at the end of my review will clarify this.

In the end, Split is Shyamalan's return to his old early 2000's self. Brilliantly unconventional storytelling, a lot of suspense, some very captivating subplots and a fantastic editing and production team behind him. The soundtrack plays a huge role in this film, as well as James McAvoy, who delivers his career-best performance. Anya Taylor-Joy is also pretty extraordinary, something that can't be said about her fellow friends who portrayed two bland characters. The ending brings the classic twist that makes everything more understandable, and I gotta say ... I love this film, and it is one of 2017's best!

MAJOR SPOILER BELOW

As I said above, the soundtrack plays a huge role in the ending twist. That's because the soundtrack that plays right before the title of the movie appears on the screen, is the same one as in the third act of Unbreakable.

This is one of the many clues throughout the film that hint at the idea that Split belongs to Unbreakable's universe. Naturally, after the title shows up, there's a scene with David Dunn (Bruce Willis) that confirms this theory, but these are little details that make Shyamalan into a great director and screenwriter. Also, it's a pity that I've only watched these movies after Shyamalan stating that they were part of an eventual trilogy. Not that I was not surprised at the end of Split, but it did remove that first impact of pure shock in knowing that two films separated by 17 years (in real life) are part of the same universe.

Both movies end up falling into the "superhero" genre. Unbreakable is the story of our "hero" who spent his whole life sad because he wasn't doing "what he was supposed to do", and Split is an origin story of our "villain". If Glass delivers, this might be one of the best “superhero” trilogies ever.

Rating: A

You like to make fun of us, but we are more powerful than you think.

Split is written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu-Richardson and Jessica Sula. Music is by West Dylan Thordson and cinematography by Mike Gioulakis.

Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 different personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of the 24th - known as The Beast...

We now know that Split is the second instalment of a trilogy by Shyamalan that began with Unbreakable and is ending with Glass (released 2019). Always proving to be a most divisive director/writer/actor, Shyamalan has returned to the sort of noticeable form that had him earmarked in his early days as a director to follow - with the proviso that inevitably this is going to still infuriate some for its handling of the subjects at hand.

The plot trajectory is simple enough, girls kidnapped by a patient suffering from multiple personality disorder, as the girls in fear try to escape, a number of his personalities put in an appearance. Which builds up to the finale, which explodes after following on from the suspense and dread atmospherics so beloved by the director. In the mix joining the mental health issue with our main protagonist is a good meaning doctor (naturally), and the spectre of child abuse rears its ugly head. So not a movie to be cheered up by then! While if looking for a detailed and attentive look at the mental health issues to hand you will be disappointed.

However, there is a style to the picture in how it draws you into the predicament of the main players, boosted no end by McAvoy on irresistible form. Given licence to chew every scene, he delivers his various characters with great relish and no little amount of skill. Props to for Taylor-Joy, who as the lead kidnappee has deftly blended youthful innocence with resourceful strength (aided by Shyamalan's writing of course). Conversely, Shyamalan is guilty of just making a pic for entertainment purpose, which works as it's a very good creepy thriller with its black humour moments, but the mental health plot devices ensure his gimmicks will not be welcomed by all. 7/10

There has been much discussion about whether or not it is socially acceptable to watch Split. I'm gonna skip right over all of that and talk purely about the movie itself.

Anya Taylor-Joy is good, but McAvoy is what makes Split worthwhile. The heavily touted twist/reveal was all but a non-event, even to a M. Night alum like myself. Though it is certainly (in my opinion) the best work The Shamhammer has brought out since at least Signs, it's hard to say that its successes rest on his shoulders. Again, it is for McAvoy that we really owe praise, who, with the exception of his role as the lead in Filth, gives his career best performance.

Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go.