Split (2016)

“My name’s Hedwig. I have red socks.”

I’m finally getting around to writing a review on the movie Split.

Okay- let me break it down real for you guys. This is NOT a horror movie. Split was directed by M. Night Shyamalan whom I respect greatly for films like The Sixth Sense, and more recently, The Visit. However, this was probably my least favorite film by him. IMDB classifies Split as Horror and Thriller. Well they got it half right. This was almost purely a thriller. I’m a little bitter towards the film because I felt the trailer led me to think that I was in for a spook. Instead, I sat in the theater (for 117 minutes) waiting for something, anything, to send shivers down my spine. Honestly, if you saw the trailer, you saw the scariest parts of the movie.

Split is about a guy named Barry. Actually, it was about a boy named Hedwig. Or was it Kevin? Patricia? Okay, i’m being dumb. James McAvoy plays the role of a man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder. As much as I complained in the first paragraph about this movie, James McAvoy gave a phenomenal performance. His ability to switch between identities in the same take really showed his skill and focus as an actor. Anyway, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) kidnaps 3 girls: Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). Once kidnapped, the girls waste no time trying to escape, which proves to be very complicated…

Would I recommend this movie? It really depends. As a thriller, I would absolutely recommend Split, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. As a horror movie, I would say, watch something else.