Writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan returns to the captivating grip of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs with Split, an original thriller that delves into the mysterious recesses of one man’s fractured, gifted mind. Following last year’s breakout hit The Visit, Shyamalan reunites with producer Jason Blum (The Purge and Insidious series, The Gift) for the film.
While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.
Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
Split reunites Director M. Night Shyamalan and Producer Jason Blum. They worked together on The Visit, the No. 1-grossing horror film of 2015. They also brought back their core team including producer Marc Bienstock and executive producers Ashwin Rajan and Steven Schneider.
Joaquin Phoenix was supposed to play the lead role, but could not come to an agreement, so James McAvoy was cast in his place.
Director M. Night Shyamalan says Split is his most challenging film he has ever directed and also his longest run time too.
The plot for Split has been kept under wraps until now. Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan had amazing success early on with films like The Sixth Sense and Signs, and I may be in the minority here, but I feel like his most recent works have been a bit of a disappointment. After Earth, Last Airbender and even The Visit were less than I expected.
But, his new film Split looks to be a turn in the right direction for the highly acclaimed Director. This looks to be a fresh horror story with a great creep factor, Kevin (James McAvoy). This is a new role for McAvoy and based on the trailer, he looks to nail it. You can feel the tension in the trailer and lets just hope that the film keeps that feel with not too many sluggish drawn out parts.