Shyamalan’s popcorn picture is head-scramblingly strange - a chiller where both the bad guy and his victims are, well, victims.
The Australian January 20, 2017 In his best film since The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan employs menacing close-ups to create a mood of threatening claustrophobia.
New York Times January 19, 2017 "Split" is lurid and ludicrous, and sometimes more than a little icky in its prurient, maudlin interest in the abuse of children. It’s a...
Split is funnier, campier, and more freewheeling than anything its writer-director has done-slightly overlong, but reminiscent of Brian De Palma fi...
bigstory.ap.org January 27, 2017 Split isn’t a disaster; it’s just all over the place and not nearly as effective as it should be for something with such a good pr...
Times (UK) January 20, 2017 Directed by M Night Shyamalan, the horror-thriller is full of plot holes, but McAvoy’s joyful and menacingly lunatic performance papers...
Empire Magazine January 18, 2017 Shyamalan papers over plot-holes with dry black humour and well-judged suspense, and – as always – holds back some surprises.
ReelViews January 19, 2017 The narrative is choppy, the tension is less pervasive than it should be, and there’s no ending.
It’s shot well. Its ominous setting, nestled deep in the pit of a dark, multi-layered, multi-doored complex puts you on edge. But the na...
Los Angeles Times January 19, 2017 "Split" doesn’t just revive Shyamalan’s career; it resurrects his brand.
Irish Times December 27, 2017 Cautiously recommended.
Split feels rushed and careless, spectacularly bungling a premise that had potential.
The Guardian September 28, 2016 Split really is a movie for all sorts of personalities.
New Yorker January 23, 2017 In short, we are watching an old-fashioned exploitation flick-part of a depleted and degrading genre that not even M. Night Shyamalan, the wri...
Culturess November 20, 2017 Split [is] a genre picture that’s fascinating, audacious and just kooky enough to be a lot of fun.
Shyamalan has made the straightest thriller of his career, nearly free of the misguided detours and bonkers twists that made him famous. You wish i...
"Split" takes a step in this direction by positing that "mental sickness" might not always be an actual illness – but then takes two...
New York Post January 18, 2017 Unfortunately, you could probably improve "Split" by editing out everything around McAvoy and making it an experimental one-man show.
Variety November 16, 2016 A welcome return to form from 'The Sixth Sense' director M. Night Shyamalan, whose unhinged new mind-bender is a worthy extension of his...
New Yorker January 30, 2017 The movie’s simultaneous evocation of both the depravity at work beneath society’s deceptive surfaces and the inadequacy of the liberal...
It’s far from perfect, but where so many modern horror movies are anonymous, Split has personality and then some.
Detroit News January 20, 2017 "Split" doesn’t do enough to overcome its weaknesses, bouncing between a grungy horror exploitation flick, a psychological thriller and...
San Diego Reader January 20, 2017 Shyamalan juggles all these borrowed balls with grace and skill; it’s only when he adds in some of his own that he falters.
For most of its nearly two-hour running time, "Split" is quite enjoyable, a clever one-up of "Psycho" with some interesting twists and several funn...
An enjoyably stacked entertainment, equally crunchy and silky in its desire to be as appetizing a two hours as you could spend in suspended di...
Hollywood Reporter September 28, 2016 The director ties themes together at the end with more finesse than usual, letting a couple of meaningful visuals speak for themselves where he mig...
The Guardian January 19, 2017 An unpredictable, suspenseful little tale that comes together surprisingly satisfyingly, thanks to clever plotting and a truly committed perfo...
When Shyamalan embraces his identity as a horror director with a knack for surprises, more fun is had by all.
Shyamalan is a one-trick pony who needs to find a new rodeo.
The film contends that people are purified by suffering. Having suffered through the screening, I’m still waiting for my purer self to kick in.
Daily Telegraph January 19, 2017 This measured, diligently crafted register feels like Shyamalan back on home turf.
The Atlantic January 21, 2017 To all of the shocking developments of the last 12 months, we may now add yet one more: M. Night Shyamalan has made a good movie.
Vanity Fair January 19, 2017 Those final 30 or so seconds do a lot of work to cover up what is otherwise a mostly engaging piece of hokum, a grim kidnapping tale that...
RogerEbert.com January 21, 2017 A rare, straight-up horror film from Shyamalan, Split is a thrilling reminder of what a technical master he can be.
The way that Shyamalan and Gioulakis emphasize close-ups and medium shots make for a taut, clean forcefulness that…give Split a leaner, h...
theplaylist.net January 19, 2017 If "Split" were a drama released in the final months of the year, James McAvoy would be getting awards talk, but its "lesser" genre status mea...
Orlando Sentinel January 20, 2017 Shyamalan demonstrates a mastery over the form of the mean and lean psycho-thriller, aided in no small party by the performances of McAvoy, Ta...
Observer January 25, 2017 This is a filmmaker with almost no real talent for coherence, originality or purpose and in spite of his insistence on audience secrecy, his o...
Chicago Sun-Times January 19, 2017 I went with it. I got back on that M. Night bandwagon, and the finish line in particular was just spectacularly fantastic.
TIME Magazine January 19, 2017 Shyamalan’s skill as a filmmaker-his instincts for crisp editing, his knack for navigating shifting points of view-have always been stro...
Slant Magazine January 18, 2017 Split is personal and outlandish, with questionable themes, riveting plotting, somber storytelling, and elegant construction.
Financial Times January 19, 2017 Moodying with faux menace around the nutter’s underworld, Shyamalan fails to develop his three-pack of vapid victims and pads his script with...
Village Voice January 18, 2017 There’s a locked-room mystery going on inside Kevin’s head. But Split shows too little of the individual selves for viewers to develop...
Rolling Stone January 19, 2017 M. Night Shyamalan’s story of a kidnapper with serious identity issues is an acting showcase for James McAvoy – and first-rate cree...
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s low-budget treat savors its midnight-movie creepiness, and yet its gripping finale turns out to be...
Austin Chronicle January 19, 2017 Give James McAvoy an award (or 24) for his performance in Split.
The Guardian January 22, 2017 Marks a definite return to form for Shyamalan.
Boston Globe January 19, 2017 Distressing, narratively convenient exploitation that gets by on the strength of McAvoy’s fearless, electrifyingly adaptive performance.
It’s a mystery that falls apart at the first touch.
"Split" is always watchable, and occasionally great. And that’s probably more than even the most forgiving former Shyamalan fan ever thought...
Split’s giddy nonsense ultimately dissolves in a scrum
of half-realized ideas, but maybe that’s exactly Shyamalan’s goal …
Globe and Mail January 20, 2017 McAvoy is excellent, but, for pure squeals and entertainment, the film falls short of Shyamalan’s The Visit from 2015.
AV Club September 28, 2016 Split is a solid example of the type of elevated B-movie potboiler at which Shyamalan excels, and to which he thankfully seems to be re-commit...
ChrisStuckmann.com November 20, 2016 James McAvoy gives a terrifying career-best performance in Shyamalan’s best film since Signs.
This is still not mint-condition Shyamalan, but he’s heading in the right direction, with some help from McAvoy, who gives Kevin-and 23...
Toronto Star January 19, 2017 Like the villain of Split, Shyamalan’s worst enemy just might be himself.
Split is a deeply disturbing film that covers every evil human deed from kidnapping to cannibalism. But it’s also wildly funny in parts.
USA Today January 18, 2017 An eerie and intimate psychological thriller with Hitchcockian tones harkening back to the Shyamalan’s early 2000s run that put him on t...
Little White Lies January 18, 2017 In Shyamalan’s inventive meta-psychodrama, it’s 23 (or so) characters in search of an author.
Shyamalan has returned to what he loves to do: use cheap horror tropes to create his own harebrained mythos.
indieWire September 28, 2016 Only James McAvoy’s multi-faceted performance saves the movie from complete mediocrity.
MovieFreak.com January 20, 2017 This movie, even with some interesting side tangents I still need to think about and ruminate on, is ferocious, and coupled with sensational p...
A solid encapsulation of what Shyamalan is all about.
Toronto Sun January 19, 2017 Split is all about atmosphere and build-up, which Shyamalan renders suitably claustrophobic.
Arizona Republic January 18, 2017 After that streak of deadly misfires it’s nice to see Shyamalan enjoying himself again.
