SPLIT - SPOILER REVIEW

*SPOILER WARNING*

Hi, folks! Here I am back again to talk about M. Night Shyamalan’s new film SPLIT only this time I’m going to delve into details that I kept under wraps in my Spoiler Free Review. If you haven’t seen this film I advise you to go out and see the movie and then come back. I’m going to be talking about this film in depth and if you want to know my thoughts without Spoilers click here for my Spoiler-Free Thoughts. Without further ado let’s get to it!

As many of you may know from my SPOILER-FREE Review that I outright adored this film from beginning to end and in my personal opinion thought it was M. Night’s best effort in years. It was so refreshing to see an incredibly well-directed thriller, unfortunately, after seeing this director at his worst with Airbender and After Earth. Like I said in my previous review it was a very well directed piece of cinema, but I did say that there was a twist that changed my perspective on this entire film and completely justified everything that happened in the overall story. On my first viewing, the film ends and I was satisfied with what I ended up with. It was a great thriller film but at the same time, I wasn't sure if I missed the twist before the extra scene kicks in. I thought maybe it was something that I had to really analyze upon revisiting it, but the James Newton Howard theme from Unbreakable kicks in and I was thinking to myself, “Is Shyamalan doing what I think he's doing?!” Then you get that scene in the diner, which was like a Marvel post credit scene and then you hear a woman comment about the news report involving Kevin saying, “Hey that's like the crazy guy in the wheelchair from 15 years ago. What was his name?” I was like, “Oh my gosh! Is this real?” The camera then pans over to none other than Bruce Willis as David Dunn himself replying, “Mr. Glass.” Therefore, my mind was blown. 

In a way, we now finally have a sequel to Unbreakable. Mind you it’s a side story, but to think Shyamalan had another plan for this universe in the first place is just plain awesome. I even remember seeing articles float around that Shyamalan thought about doing an Unbreakable sequel, so it was kind of interesting to see how SPLIT took place in that same universe. I thought this movie had some brilliant marketing leading you to believe that this was just gonna be another horror/thriller that had an interesting twist in the mix of it, but literally by the end just from one little scene, that post-credit scene, it changes your entire perspective of that film. It interests me to see that maybe there's going to be a true blue Unbreakable sequel in the future or maybe there's gonna be another side story set in that same universe teasing to set a sequel but who knows? I'm sure Shyamalan has something great in store. It's interesting for McAvoy's character to be a part of this world because he kind of reminds me of a villain like the Joker, who has the weird alter ego thing going on (really 24 different alter egos) plus he's also a super villain with supernatural powers. It's just so interesting to maybe see him appear in another Unbreakable movie, but again who knows what Shyamalan has in store. The dude has a brilliant mind, but basically, this film confirms to me we're getting another Unbreakable movie. However, the film SPLIT as a singular movie ended up being great on its own and served the purpose of being a well-done and suspenseful thriller.

It’s also incredibly fascinating that Kevin was a character written originally for the first Unbreakable film, but Shyamalan had trouble balancing him in that movie with David and Mr. Glass. I’m glad this character was given his own movie so that there could be a deep singular focus on that character alone. I know Shyamalan mentioned in an interview that he’s in the stages of outlining an Unbreakable sequel. He has it on his mind and is in the process of making it, but he wanted SPLIT to have its time to shine first. Fingers crossed it’s happening now and as he states in his interview that hopefully, the demons don’t come after him, preventing him from making it. I’d love to see another Unbreakable film. I’m more than open for another installment and to see how they can incorporate the character of Kevin.

Speaking of characters, I mention how Kevin was a great layered character, but I’m glad they also had Anya Taylor-Joy’s character Casey have so much to her. You definitely had sympathy for this character and the fact that she coped with this situation with Kevin in relation to being with her abusive uncle. It was heartbreaking to see this character go through so much in her life and why she preferred seclusion. I cared so much about this character and I thought Taylor-Joy did an outstanding job making us feel for this character. Also, the fact that her final scene in the cop car is left kinda ambiguous and that the look she gives alone gives us an idea about her decision to go home with her uncle after her rescue. She could’ve been just another throwaway lead female character that runs away from the scary monster man, but Shyamalan gave her so many layers that we as the audience could care about and through Taylor-Joy’s performance we could be convinced by such emotion. I was more than convinced and thought she was a strong character.

Now, like any other M. Night film, I loved that upon a second viewing I was able to pick up on some little details here and there through Shyamalan’s fantastic directing. The fact that Kevin lived under a zoo left me rather curious. Seeing the film again I could understand why the zoo was this hideout for him due to the fact that this specific zoo had this sort of connection to him. We see his last name Crumb on a locker at one point, so we know that he had a job there before, but why would he hideout in a place he used to work? My theory is that on top of formerly working there and knowing the ins and outs of the physicality, there’s the scene where Kevin runs out of the subway after transforming into “the beast” and passes by these cops in the distance with a guard dog. The dog gets restless as Kevin whizzes by, but the cop says to the other cop something like, “Oh it’s a wild animal. Coyote or something.” The impression I get is that since Kevin lives at the zoo that with this “beast” being revealed he’s learned to adapt features similar to other predators at the zoo. That could be something I’m totally over analyzing, but I wonder why Shyamalan wrote that line for the cop specifically. It could’ve just been said for the heck of it and he ran by fast like an animal, but I feel there’s always some purpose behind some lines said.

Also, there was the scene when Casey uses the walky-talky in which she unknowingly talks to a zookeeper. The little detail I didn’t notice before is that when the zookeeper is talking and thinking it was another employee, he asks if it was a trick and if she stole his orange headphones. At the end of the film when the older zookeeper brings Casey out of the hideout to another zookeeper at a desk. this zookeeper turns out to be the same one who was speaking to her on the other line. We know this because when they approach him, he’s wearing the orange headphones. There was also the scene towards the climax when Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley) comes to visit Kevin at what we assume to be his home, but what was really the zoo. When she gets out of the cab to see Kevin, the driver says to her “Hey you realize it’s closed, right?” referring to the zoo. Then, of course, the scene in Hedwig’s room with all the zoo toys and with watching the film again, that, of course, makes sense. Piecing these scenes together and picking up on these new details was just part of the fun of revisiting this film again.

Like I said earlier how this film ties into Unbreakable couldn’t have been done any better and really that end scene did change everything. The connection to that film was unpredictable even when listening closely to Dr. Fletcher express openly about there being an abnormal shift in the human psychology not due to health reasons, but how they revolve around those with supernatural abilities. In the end, I’m glad SPLIT was an incredibly well-directed thriller that did a great job of revealing plot points, like other Shyamalan films, and cleverly presented this connection to Unbreakable, which changed the way I viewed it. I was glad to have experienced it twice now. I plan on picking it up on Blu-Ray and watching it more and hoping to pick up on more hidden details or to just relive such a great, intense experience in the universe of Unbreakable. Now in regards to ranking out of the 11 directed Shyamalan films I'd rank it #4 right below The Sixth Sense, which is at #3 and above The Visit at #5. If you want to see the rest of my Shyamalan rankings here's Part 1 and Part 2 for your reading pleasure.

There you have it! Those are my Spoiler-Filled thoughts on SPLIT and if you have seen it already, I encourage you to go check it out again. It is doing really well at the box office and lots of people are flocking to see this original film, but let’s keep up that streak. I can’t wait to revisit it again upon future viewings, but, it’s so refreshing to see M. Night, once again, be a master at his craft. Thank you all for reading and be sure to check out my reviews next week. I got a couple I have planned, one being for the first John Wick in preparation for John Wick Chapter 2 and the new Netflix original film titled Imperial Dreams starring John Boyega. Be on the lookout for those two. Always remember to see some movies and all that good stuff!