The Visit II

The Visit II: The Forgotten Ones (2025): A Haunting Return to Shyamalan’s Chilling World

The Visit II: The Forgotten Ones is the long-anticipated sequel to M. Night Shyamalan’s 2015 psychological horror film The Visit. Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, and co-written by Shyamalan and Leigh Whannell, this 2025 installment builds upon the eerie foundation of the original, diving deeper into themes of isolation, trauma, and familial horror.

Set nearly a decade after the events of the first film, the story follows 17-year-old Maya, played by Sadie Sink, as she arrives at a remote Pennsylvania farmhouse to live with extended relatives. The house, drenched in silence and shadow, holds a terrifying past — two children who vanished under mysterious circumstances years earlier. Unbeknownst to Maya, her presence will awaken the buried horrors that still linger within the walls.

In a stylistic nod to the original film, Maya uses a vintage camcorder to document her stay. This framing device allows for unsettling close-ups, awkward silences, and eerie nighttime footage that intensify the dread. As Maya begins to experience increasingly disturbing events — mysterious knocking, cryptic behavior from her caretakers, and whispers from unseen sources — the line between reality and hallucination begins to blur.

Sadie Sink gives a compelling performance as a teenager caught between grief and paranoia. Her emotional range captures both her vulnerability and her resolve as she uncovers the horrifying truth about her family’s past. Karen Gillan plays the strange and overly cheerful Aunt Lydia, whose brittle demeanor hides a dark secret, while Tobin Bell delivers a chilling performance as Grandpa Eli, whose quiet menace grows more disturbing with each scene.

The film’s visual atmosphere is one of its strongest elements. Cinematographer Michael Gioulakis uses dim natural lighting and claustrophobic framing to emphasize the house’s oppressive presence. Every creak of a floorboard and distant thud contributes to a feeling that the house itself is alive. The score, composed by The Newton Brothers, underlines each scene with a sense of escalating unease, punctuated by discordant strings and ambient tones.

Thematically, The Forgotten Ones explores the lingering effects of generational trauma and the dangers of ignoring the past. The house becomes a symbol of this inherited pain, harboring not just ghosts, but the consequences of buried family secrets. As Maya uncovers evidence of other forgotten children and the sinister rituals tied to them, it becomes clear that the horror is not only supernatural — it’s rooted in the family’s own history of denial and complicity.

The film’s climax is both shocking and tragic, revealing that the evil festering within the house has spread, infecting not only the land but also the people meant to protect Maya. The final moments hint at a broader mythology behind the events, suggesting that this is not just a family’s curse — it is part of something much older and far-reaching.

In summary, The Visit II: The Forgotten Ones succeeds in delivering a tense, atmospheric horror experience that deepens the mythology of its predecessor. With strong performances, haunting visuals, and a layered narrative, it proves that sometimes the scariest things are the ones we try hardest to forget.