In The Visit II: The Forgotten Ones, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan resurrects the unsettling energy of his 2015 surprise hit The Visit—but this time, the horror digs deeper, darker, and far more disturbing. While the original played with the terrors of aging, deception, and isolation, this sequel blends psychological horror with supernatural dread, spinning a gripping tale of generational trauma and long-buried secrets.
The story follows Ella and Marcus Jamison, distant relatives of Becca and Tyler, the original film's protagonists. Curious about their family's disturbing history, the siblings set off to uncover the fate of Nana and Pop Pop—only to stumble upon a now-abandoned farm that still seems to remember what happened there. What begins as a documentary project quickly devolves into a waking nightmare as the siblings encounter strange sounds, cryptic messages carved into walls, and terrifying visions of the past that bleed into their present.
Shyamalan once again builds tension through silence, stillness, and unexpected twists. He uses found-footage elements sparingly, instead opting for a more cinematic style that retains the claustrophobic feel of the original. The performances—especially by newcomer Zariah Washington as Ella—are compelling, with just the right mix of vulnerability and strength. The slow-burn pacing allows suspense to build gradually, making the eventual reveals all the more shocking.
While The Visit II doesn’t entirely escape the pitfalls of horror sequels—such as over-explaining mysteries that were more effective left vague—it manages to retain a unique identity by shifting the thematic focus from childlike fear to adolescent reckoning. It’s a story about inherited fear, the kind passed through bloodlines and whispered through forgotten lullabies.
Though The Visit II wraps up its main storyline, its ambiguous final scene hints at a broader mythology. In the final minutes, Marcus discovers a sealed room beneath the house containing ritual objects and old video tapes labeled with other children’s names. The implication? Nana and Pop Pop weren’t the first—or the last.
If Shyamalan continues the series, a potential third film (The Visit III: The Echoing) could explore the origins of the supernatural force hinted at in this sequel. Was Nana simply insane, or was she part of something older—something that possesses its "hosts" and compels them to prey on the young? With the success of the second film, fans are already speculating that we may not have seen the last of those twisted grandparents after all.
