Samantha (Feren) works as a fortune teller at the local amusement park. She doesn't really believe in the supernatural but she needs the job since she was widowed a year ago when her husband died in a freak car wreck. An after-hours client named Lee (Glaner) shows up and demands her help. Lee has been plagued by a demon that she can't shake. Samantha goes through the motions and tells the spirit to leave Lee alone. Samantha goes home and the suspect spirit has attached itself to her and her big house starts playing supernatural tricks on her. Samantha's best friend Maya (Wiu) consults with her by telephone and web-cam. Maya is a supernatural expert and the one who talked Samantha into being a fortune teller. As the night progresses Samantha becomes more terrified until she gets the idea that it could be her dead husband trying to communicate with her. Will she open herself up to the spirit? And is it her husband or something more evil lurking? This tightly made independent film claims to be based on actual events. Who knows, but Director Jon Binkowski makes the most out of a very small cast and limited locations with a strong production and a flair for delivering some spooky moments. Using lighting and very subtle digital effects at just the right time, Binkowski raises some goose bumps and keeps the viewer engaged. A great moment happens when Samantha just misses seeing a charging spirit on the screen of her TV she just turned off. An above average musical score from Stephen O'Connor helps the overall effectiveness of the film. Written by Binkowski and Stephen DeWoody, The Visitant's biggest flaw comes from the two characters having a constant conversation to further the plot. More characters would have helped break this up a bit. It didn't help having the two characters arguing over the validity of the paranormal which begins to wear on the audience as the movie goes on. The scares are well done, and at least this movie has some, even though more hardcore audiences might find it a bit on the light side without any blood or gore. Hey it isn't "Insidious" but it isn't trying to be either, it is a simple straight head haunting thriller with a chilling ending that may be predictable but still works.
8 Reviews
A bit hit and miss.
RatedVforVinny12 October 2019
This is not such a bad film (in all) but the acting and characterisation is pretty sunstanded in parts. The scares are quite well handled and certainly some interesting ideas but it has to be something rather special to make any type of an impact in this most popular of genres.
Won't recall a thing.
ansell-728798 October 2021
A skeptical psychic finds herself 'haunted' on the anniversary of her husbands' death. Compressing 90 minutes into a single sentence hardly does anyone justice but even so, the idea seemed to have merit. The resulting movie, The Visitant, doesn't exploit this merit but it is an OK made for television production.
Set design, in fact all aspects of the production are characterized by 'middle classness' and unrelenting neatness. There is absolutely nothing wrong with middle class but as a consequence, the film lacks anything like atmosphere.
Cinematography is of the, an actor stands, the camera follows them up; a character sits and the camera follows them down, type. It is adequate but pedestrian. The same summation can be made of the script.
Michelle Simms, as Samantha, plays the lead with conviction but not a great deal of range. She was much better in Red Tide which was of a more thriller than something with a supernatural bent.
The actual haunting is low key. Milk mysteriously sours, the television set suddenly stops, several appliances suddenly come to life - you get the idea. The jump scares are lackluster.
About the 40-minute mark things gets fleetingly more adventurous but it doesn't last.
At the hour mark, there is a slight increase in the complexity of the plot as we move into the denouement, the great reveal.
At an hour and 26 minutes, something finally happens! Yes, with four minutes of screen time to go but that something is not enough to lift the preceding nearly 90 minutes.
Director Jon Binkowski might have taken a few more risks with the material he was working with. There is a sequel, ReVisitant, which is actually a weaker film and even more wearisome.
This all sounds very negative, but no one should feel embarrassed about having The Visitant on their CV. It's competent but it's just that it leans so heavily towards the bland.
You won't be able to recall a thing a day after watching it, but The Visitant, is a harmless way to fill in an hour and half.
Set design, in fact all aspects of the production are characterized by 'middle classness' and unrelenting neatness. There is absolutely nothing wrong with middle class but as a consequence, the film lacks anything like atmosphere.
Cinematography is of the, an actor stands, the camera follows them up; a character sits and the camera follows them down, type. It is adequate but pedestrian. The same summation can be made of the script.
Michelle Simms, as Samantha, plays the lead with conviction but not a great deal of range. She was much better in Red Tide which was of a more thriller than something with a supernatural bent.
The actual haunting is low key. Milk mysteriously sours, the television set suddenly stops, several appliances suddenly come to life - you get the idea. The jump scares are lackluster.
About the 40-minute mark things gets fleetingly more adventurous but it doesn't last.
At the hour mark, there is a slight increase in the complexity of the plot as we move into the denouement, the great reveal.
At an hour and 26 minutes, something finally happens! Yes, with four minutes of screen time to go but that something is not enough to lift the preceding nearly 90 minutes.
Director Jon Binkowski might have taken a few more risks with the material he was working with. There is a sequel, ReVisitant, which is actually a weaker film and even more wearisome.
This all sounds very negative, but no one should feel embarrassed about having The Visitant on their CV. It's competent but it's just that it leans so heavily towards the bland.
You won't be able to recall a thing a day after watching it, but The Visitant, is a harmless way to fill in an hour and half.
Not worth watching .....
rosecalifornia20 September 2015
Like most people, when I watch films I want to see something interesting and entertaining....neither of which is found here.
You can read the review for the background of what the film is about. However, the nuts and bolts - just are not in this film. The acting is forced, not natural. The script is incredibly poorly written. The beginning is actually worse than a high school play or script. This film spells out everything surrounding the world of the "fortune teller" within about two minutes, it is actually laughable - and if this were done in school, the student would receive an F.
As the story attempts to unfold it is just more and more of a mis-mash attempt at fear using loud sounds, music and screams at varying points. There are strange points in the film where they use the annoying shaky-cam, but then again flip to the level cam - it doesn't make sense....even taking into consideration the script at the point.
You see a "fortune teller" living in a multi-million dollar decked out home (they make $20 per reading prior to taxes), it would be more believable if she were in a small home. There is more attached to this point of the film, but I don't want to give away any information in that regard - but it is not believable in the least.
Hopefully - someone in Hollywood will give backing/funding to one of the many talented people with film ideas that are pounding on doors.....but it hasn't happened yet.
You can read the review for the background of what the film is about. However, the nuts and bolts - just are not in this film. The acting is forced, not natural. The script is incredibly poorly written. The beginning is actually worse than a high school play or script. This film spells out everything surrounding the world of the "fortune teller" within about two minutes, it is actually laughable - and if this were done in school, the student would receive an F.
As the story attempts to unfold it is just more and more of a mis-mash attempt at fear using loud sounds, music and screams at varying points. There are strange points in the film where they use the annoying shaky-cam, but then again flip to the level cam - it doesn't make sense....even taking into consideration the script at the point.
You see a "fortune teller" living in a multi-million dollar decked out home (they make $20 per reading prior to taxes), it would be more believable if she were in a small home. There is more attached to this point of the film, but I don't want to give away any information in that regard - but it is not believable in the least.
Hopefully - someone in Hollywood will give backing/funding to one of the many talented people with film ideas that are pounding on doors.....but it hasn't happened yet.
Simply dreadful
Saiph9028 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
An out of work actress is making ends meet as a fake {are they not all fake?) fortune teller, she lives in a huge mansion, her partner Stephen died a year ago in a car crash. A spirit passed on by one of her clients who produced laugh out loud over acting follows her home. Ok, is this a comedy, the acting is amazingly bad, the story line unbelievable, would anyone stay in the house? Why would her dead partner be trying to scare her to death, who knows, who cares? Thankfully relatively short so less of my life was wasted. Poor acting, script and not particularly scary.
The Visitant: A pleasant surprise
Platypuschow9 September 2017
I tend not to like the "Ghosty" films, though I'm a horror fanatic I find this sub genre highly clichéd and very boring. Once you've seen one you tend to have seen them all.
For this reason I went into The Visitant with no expectations so was pleasantly surprised to see that this is actually a competently made horror title with a few good ideas under it's belt.
It's not going to win any awards for originality but I got what I wanted out of it regardless, entertainment.
With a decent lead, an interesting story and less of the usual genres tropes I have to say this is one of the better "Ghosty" films I've ever seen.
The Good:
Solid lead
Some good ideas
Neat finale
The Bad:
You'll have seen most of it before
For this reason I went into The Visitant with no expectations so was pleasantly surprised to see that this is actually a competently made horror title with a few good ideas under it's belt.
It's not going to win any awards for originality but I got what I wanted out of it regardless, entertainment.
With a decent lead, an interesting story and less of the usual genres tropes I have to say this is one of the better "Ghosty" films I've ever seen.
The Good:
Solid lead
Some good ideas
Neat finale
The Bad:
You'll have seen most of it before
Fairly decent scares
myplane15020 February 2014
I have been watching and very much enjoying horror movies for a long time. In fact, I rarely get scared anymore. My nephew and girlfriend think I am weird because nothing gives me the heebie jeebies. So I love it when a movie gives me the chills. Last effective movie I saw was The Conjuring (see it!!!). Anyway, this movie actually gave me said chills on a couple of occasions. Not because it was really scary but because it was effectively creepy. The movie was well acted throughout and the story wasn't bad. I think most gave it a low score because it is kinda slow but, in horror, slow is good. Also, the ending could have been a bit less hokey. All in all though, not too shabby.
RIKKI DON'T PLAY THAT NUMBER
nogodnomasters7 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Samantha (Michele Feren) is an out of work actress, making mortgage payments by pretending to be a psychic at a local amusement park. She helps a customer (Sallie Glaner) exercise a spirit that gets attached to her. Strange things happen in her home as she consults her friend Maya (Tracy Wiu) by phone as to what to do about a ghost. This is also the one year anniversary of her husband's death.
This is a low budget "B: grade horror film. There are no jerking cameras. Most of the filming is of Samantha in a house with stuff moving, most of which we don't see move, it just appears there. In the end we find a connection. There is no specific closure, but you can surmise. The film ends rather abruptly, but not as bad as what Peter Jackson did to us.
It is a good little thriller to watch in the dark with screaming girls. Don't expect too much.
Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.
This is a low budget "B: grade horror film. There are no jerking cameras. Most of the filming is of Samantha in a house with stuff moving, most of which we don't see move, it just appears there. In the end we find a connection. There is no specific closure, but you can surmise. The film ends rather abruptly, but not as bad as what Peter Jackson did to us.
It is a good little thriller to watch in the dark with screaming girls. Don't expect too much.
Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.
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