All the voices in my head, says this movie was truly crazy-awesome. I agree with them.

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2017)

After emerging in the 1990s and early 2000s as one of the top horror directors thanks to films like 1999's 'The Sixth Sense' and 2000's 'Unbreakable', it's no secret that M. Night Shyamalan's career began to experience an unfortunate downward spiral starting with 2002's 'Signs' leading up to the truly irredeemable 2008's 'The Happening'. Even when he try to film, other genre like 2010's 'The Last Airbender' & 2013's 'After Earth', he continue to fail to connect with his audience. However, in 2015, it all change as he return to form with 'The Visit'. That movie became a surprise hit with critics and horror fans. It even show the first signs of a possible comeback. With that reconnected with his audience, Shyamalan released his newest stylish psychological thriller 'Split' about three girls: Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor Joy) being kidnapped by a mysterious man (James McAvoy) whom been diagnosed 23 distinct personalities; as they must try to escape before the man's deadly 24 persona takes hold. Like 'The Visit', a few years earlier, 'Split' mostly received generally positive reviews from both audiences and critics. For me, personally, I thought it was one of his very best written film yet, even if two of the three victims are thinly-thought of. At least, the third, Casey, is given a semblance of multidimensionality via a series of flashbacks that plays a big part in the climax of the film. Anya Taylor Joy does a great job, showing us, the quiet and raw emotion that not many other actresses her age are capable of. We wanted to see her, survive against the mental disturb man. The movie did portray a very good, Hitchcockism 'Psycho' mysterious-like vibe with the mysterious villain, ranging from the OCD neat freak, to an innocent child-like being to a creepy motherly figure. Mad props goes to James McAvoy for making a haunting man with 23 personalities seem somewhat real, even if we only see 7th of them. Still, I like how each one of them, has its own strengths, physical traits and flaws. I also like how each one has with its own unique ways of managing Kevin's fears and protecting him from the world around him. It also amazing to see some of the personas impersonates others, during the explosion dumps scenes, such as the ones, he has, with psychiatrist, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley). Nearly every dialogue having some subtle mysterious purpose, foreshadowing to what is to come. While, some people still hate the movie for how it portrayed, dissociative identity disorder. In my opinion, the psychological aspects of dissociative identity disorder are presented accurately to how they appear in medical literature with diagnosis often being difficult, as there is considerable comorbidity with other mental disorders, and malingering often happens. While, it's true that most people suffering from 'DID', are more of a danger to themselves, than to other people. I do have to say, there are 'DID" people like this, who trick and hide the pain from others. Even with cameo of Shyamalan, these scenes, along with Mike Gioulakis's cinematography with the sinister, windowless, underground lair, smoothly snaking with corridors, dingy doors and pipes, and harsh pools of light, adds to the suspense that already full of physical dangers to the girls, whom trying to escape through structural weaknesses or trying outsmart their deranged captor. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game of epic, psychological proportions, packed to the brim with a few surprises and more than a few unexpected twists and turns. One of them, like the supernatural powers might seem a little too out of this world, but it does come from real-world theories about the elastic limits of human possibility. While the supernatural subplot seem to come out of nowhere for the viewer that wasn't paying attention. There were some great subtle foreshadowing of that, within the movie. A good example is the scene where one of the persona has to take insulin shots. Who knows, if that was for the diabetes or to help with having extreme abilities like super strength like a shot of steroids!? Another, would be the sight of the mysterious man, mourning his father, disappearance at the train station. Could his father, be one of the victims of Eastrail 177 crash!? All of this, could be, possible, as the film concept for this flick was originally written for a different, previous movie of Shyamalan. So, don't be, too surprised of the twist, toward the end, at the diner. Overall: I will say that if you're a stickler for realism, you might want to save yourself the frustration. While not perfect, with the help of his actors and technical crew, Shyamalan has created a film that feels less like a standard horror kidnapping tale, and more like a legitimately moving story about self-discovery. This is a smart movie that will undoubtedly leave viewers thinking -- and discussing. If you have enjoyed any of M. Night's smart movie before, then there is a good chance you will enjoy this horror flick. Highly recommended.