Split, the latest installment in the volatile career of writer and director M. Night Shyamalan, is a horror-thriller that opens with the kidnapping of Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) and two other bland and stupid girls. The crime is committed by a mentally-unstable man (James McAvoy) who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities). From there, the film follows the subsequent imprisonment of the girls, as the man — whose name varies based on his personality — has his mental state severely deteriorate despite the best efforts of his psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley). Some crazy, borderline supernatural stuff happens, there are a couple solid twists and turns, and then the movie ends — huh, and it actually wasn’t half bad.
The film is centered, for the most part, around the unbelievable nature of its antagonist’s personality, and as a result, its qualities essentially fall in line with McAvoy’s character — that serves as both a benefit and a detriment to the finished product. It’s a high-energy popcorn flick that provides a solid amount of both laughter and suspense, and it executes the source material well enough to keep most any viewer engaged and entertained for the entirety of its 117-minute runtime. On the flip side, though, Shyamalan does not naturally blend the comedy and horror well, resulting in a tone that often feels forced, and in the final act the movie sort of switches its premise from "a dramatized but interesting look at a rare mental illness" to "crazy supernatural happenings that have no logical explanation."
Because of the story’s reliance on the demented nature of its antagonist and the troubled past of its protagonist (Casey Cooke), Split could not have worked had the performances from the main cast been subpar or even merely average. McAvoy does an incredible job selling every aspect of his erratic character, and Taylor Joy (who previously had her big break in the 2015 horror The Witch) gives the film some necessary emotional depth that it for the most part would have lacked without her. Betty Buckley provides the story with an outside perspective and a bit of explanation regarding her patient’s affliction, and even the other two kidnapped girls, who receive essentially no characterization whatsoever as they turn in passable performances for their limited screen time.
Much to my pleasant surprise from the director, who infamously went from being labeled "The Next Spielberg" to making garbage such as The Last Airbender and After Earth, Split was not only a watchable film, but a slightly above average and highly entertaining piece of cinema. The flaws are present and reality apparent, as is the glaringly PG-13 rating, but it's a welcome return to form for the oft-ridiculed filmmaker.
Three and one half stars (out of five).
