When the famous, or infamous, director M. Night Shyamalan first broke through the scenes of Hollywood, he received much acclaim. Various works of his, such as The “Sixth Sense” (1999), “Unbreakable” (2000) and “Signs” (2002), were all received very well by critics. He was applauded for his new creative take on suspenseful thrillers that had never before been seen.

Fast forward an entire decade, and Shyamalan is now one of the most prominent laughing stocks in Hollywood. Especially after the disastrous “The Last Airbender” (2010) and the even more regrettable, “After Earth” (2013). After so many blunders, Shyamalan’s once extravagant reputation has ultimately diminished.

However, it seems as though Shyamalan has redeemed himself with this year’s “Split” (2017). He has dropped the countless attempts at summer blockbusters and has decided to return his familial roots, those of suspense and thrillers… the very roots that allowed Shyamalan to earn his reputation in the first place.

Split is a psychological thriller that stars James McAvoy, famous for his role as Professor X in 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men” franchise (2000-present) and stars the rising British-Argentine actress, Anya Taylor-Joy. The plot follows the story of a man named Kevin Wendell Crumb who suffers from a severe case of Multiple Personality Disorder. Within Kevin are 23 individual personalities, that make him do whatever they desire and even lead him to abduct three girls in order to sacrifice them to the so called, “Beast,” which is revealed at the very end of the film.

First and foremost, James McAvoy must be applauded for such an outstanding performance. The role of Kevin was a difficult one to play due to the fact that this one character contained multiple personas within him. Most would not be able to handle such a role, but McAvoy nails it. Each personality has their own name, background, mannerisms and even vary in gender. McAvoy made sure to give it his all for this performance and it most definitely shows. Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays Casey Cooke (the lead of the three girls), plays her role marvelously. This is the young actress’ first major role and we will most certainly be seeing her in other films after having such a strong performance.

“Split” managed to entertain the audience throughout the 117 minute runtime. There were many suspenseful, heart warming, confusing and even disgusting moments within the film. Especially Casey Cooke’s background story. It must be noted that the cinematography of the film is quite beautiful, which is odd to conclude on a movie of this nature. They added a certain aesthetic to the film, making it a bit more fun to watch. Of course in order to get the old Shyamalan back, the director needed to finish this movie in a twist, and I must say that it really caught the audience off guard.

Of course “Split” is not without its flaws. The two actors who played the girls who were kidnapped along with Casey Cooke, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula, were a little over the top when compared to Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance. There were also many points in the film where the dialogue did feel a little choppy and didn’t work so well.

All in all, Shyamalan has most certainly redeemed himself this time around with this beautiful masterpiece of a film. It’s unique in every sense and reinvents the genre. It may not be for everyone, but “Split” is definitely worth your time and money.