Becca and Tyler are staying at their grandparents’ house for the first time. Their mother is estranged from her parents, so Becca decides to film a documentary to show her that her parents aren’t all bad.

However, the kids are unaware of their grandparents hidden secret that could turn deadly at a moment’s notice.

Director M. Night Shyamalan spent the last decade in a sea of troubles. A series of disastrous films, including “Lady in the Water” and “The Last Airbender,” were critically panned and financially unremarkable, and his prima-donna attitude made him a pariah in Hollywood. However, he earned back some goodwill with the first episode of the sci-fi miniseries “Wayward Pines” and “The Visit” gained some critical acclaim.

Shyamalan’s success now has people wondering if he can make a comeback. I contend that his early films, especially “The Sixth Sense,” were not flukes, but even I had ample reason for skepticism. Yet, “The Visit” was actually a creepy movie and a good notch on his belt.

On the surface, “The Visit” has a lot of things that could sink a movie for me. Trying to depict old people as scary? Kids as main characters? Found-footage? All of these have often been kisses of death in unskilled hands, but Shyamalan finally knows what he’s doing again.

Those grandparents that look like they couldn’t hurt a fly? They scared me quite a bit. With the situations the characters get into, you’ll start to wonder if your grandparents are hiding some creepy homicidal urges. The kids make for good protagonists and when they’re in peril you actually fear for them.

Last but not least, the found-footage style, probably the prime bane of horror, is used to great effect in “The Visit.” With most of the movie taking place in the grandparents’ house, the claustrophobic location and shooting style adds to the chills. All in all, a myriad of things that could’ve gone horribly wrong didn’t, and ended up being assets for the movie.

However, not everything is all sunshine and rainbows. I mentioned earlier that the evil old folks make the movie scary, but they still have their fair share of downright hilarious moments. There are a few parts that could’ve been very scary. Instead, the grandparents merely said something stereotypically “old.”

I’ve heard that Shyamalan might’ve been going for a horror-comedy mood here, but the tone is still inconsistent. Also, come on, M. Night. You haven’t used a twisted ending after that doozey in “The Village,” but you decide to use one here? They haven’t worked for you aside from “The Sixth Sense,” so maybe you need to stop trying to use out-of-left-field twists.

Even with these problems, “The Visit” is a good horror film that I think most people will find very enjoyable if they can get past the whole “granny and grampy are villains” thing. It’s also a welcome return to form for M. Night Shyamalan. Now let’s see if Shammy gets that “Sixth Sense” magic back and does something amazing.