In the psychological horror flick, Split, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring James McAvoy, a man with 23 different personalities kidnaps three teenagers, holding them in a basement of an unknown, underground facility.

Dennis, one of the three personalities belonging to McAvoy’s character, initially kidnaps the girls in a parking lot of a shopping mall. Dennis has an intimidating predisposition and battles with his OCD, being the main personality the audience learns to fear the most. There are three other personalities that often appear as well: Hedwig, Patricia, and Barry. Hedwig is a seven year old boy, Patricia is Dennis’s wife, and Barry is the personality he presents to his psychiatrist, Dr. Karen Fletcher.

From just that description, one would think that the movie must be very confusing, and it is at times. A lot of the different personalities mention each other and also refer to a character known as “the beast,” whom we don’t find out about until the finale. However, this confusion is definitely intentional to reflect the three kidnapped teenagers’ confusion. Also, as the movie goes on, the questions we create throughout the film are mostly answered.

In terms of acting, James McAvoy’s performance carries the entire film. An actor capable of performing completely different characters while being the same character was needed in order for this film and story to be a success, and McAvoy does that. When he’s Patricia, the audience truly believes that he is a middle aged woman. When he’s Hedwig, the audience truly believes that he is a seven year old boy. The performance of the main kidnapped teenager, Casey, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, carried the film as well.

Prior to seeing Split, I had only seen a few trailers and knew little about the story. I assumed it would be like any other horror film, jam packed with jump scares and edge-of-your-seat chases. However, Split is different. Shyamalan does not try to trick the audience with fake outs or purposefully try to make the audience scream with jump scares. In fact, I kept wondering to myself, “When is this going to pick up?” There was an awkward and still tension throughout the movie that could honestly be a pro and a con. Of course, there is action and suspense, especially during the finale of the film, but there is certainly nowhere near as much as found in a typical horror flick, which I thought was a pro.

Overall, Split is a unique movie filled with twists, turns, a nice dosage of action/suspense, and great performances. If you’re looking for a thrilling, and not super scary horror film to check out, Split is a great choice.