THE VISITOR
US, 2022, 89 minutes, Colour.
Finn Jones, Jesse McNamee, Thomas Francis Murphy, Dane Rhodes.
Directed by Justin P.Lange.
The Visitor is a short horror-thriller produced by Jason Blum, a Blumhouse production with its strong reputation for thrillers.
The story is reminiscent of other tales of haunted towns. A happy couple arrive, he from London, she coming back to her own home after years away. All seems well, the man, Robert, seemingly over-welcomed by the population. Things become a bit eerie with his dreams, his seeing paintings and representations of an ancestor of the town, considered a saviour-figure, resembling himself.
Interestingly, Finn Joes is British and Jessica McNamee Australian.
The film moves to a conclusion which transcends what has gone before although there have been clues. The diabolical emerges, the townspeople, cheery on the surface, admiring their hero, but participating in strange rituals, the wife’s pregnancy and birth of the child, prophecies about the child and Robert as saviour of the town.
Many consider this an inferior Blumhouse production but, suspending disbelief, it works well in its own way.
1. A Blumhouse horror thriller? The reputation of the company?
2. The title, the central character from London, reception in the town, the technical title, expectations of The Visitor?
3. The small town setting, homes, streets, stores, church…? Authentic but with the touch of the theory? The musical score?
4. Robert and Maia, married, love, his being from London, her returning home, the arrival, setting up the house? Going to the bar, people’s reactions, urging Robert to drink, his collapsing?
5. Robert, seeing the portrait, the many portraits, lookalike? The towns people’s reaction? His puzzle, the antique shop, the painting, the proprietor, her confrontation, urging him away, the insects and her death? The religious leader, the chats, welcoming him, supporting him, seeming sceptical? The seeming madman of the town, in the car, talking with Robert, his warnings? His later being put on the cross, stabbed to death? The women in the shop, admiration? The other women looking longingly at Robert? The episode in the church, his being welcomed, the acclamation?
6. The relationship between Robert and Maher, the pictures, her reassuring him, her concern? Then seeing her pregnant? His wanting to go back to England, her wanting to stay? The buildup to the tension between them? The final mysterious episodes, pregnant, the difficult birth, the umbilical cord and biting it? The baby? The strange look on the baby’s face?
7. Robert, his dreams, the effect of the paintings, his enquiries, the deaths? His confusion, Maia and the revelation about their father, the marriage, the plans, getting back to the town, the story of the hero in the painting, the difficulties in the town, his giving his life for the town?
8. The final revelation of the diabolical, the ceremonies, the masks, the chants, the birth of the child, the future of the child, Robert and his role in the town, the hero returned?
