M. Night Shyamalan treads on familiar genre ground with Split, a psychological thriller that largely works due to a scene-stealing performance from James MacAvoy.

For years the name M. Night Shyamalan has become synonymous with overbaked twists in filmdom. For as unique as the twist to Shyamalan’s first major film The Sixth Sense was, it became trite and more than a little predictable when this became the lynchpin of all the films he made immediately afterward to ever diminishing returns. It wasn’t until 2015’s The Visit, a low budget horror film from Blumhouse Pictures, that Shyamalan seemed to find his groove again; in an innovative found-footage with a twist film that made the genre unique and interesting again.

In Shyamalan’s latest, Split, we follow three teenage girls following a party; Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and outsider Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). Casey is waiting froma ride from her guardian when Claire’s father offers her a ride home. As they get in the car, her father is subdued and the three girls are kidnapped by Mr. Dennis (James MacAvoy), who drugs them and keeps them captive in a cell. As they try to figure out what’s going on, the girls come to realize that “Dennis” is but one of 23 multiple personalities residing within the body of Kevin Wendell Crumb. Moreover, several of his personalities have staged a coup based on the thoughts of their therapist Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), who believes controversially that in some cases this disorder can causes physical change, maybe even manifest abilities not inherent in the host.

To say anymore about Split would be to spoil the film’s twists and turns. But the film largely works because James MacAvoy’s fearless performances. He makes this film work with his complete commitment to playing Kevin’s various personae. Anya Taylor-Joy is also excellent in grounding his performance with the fear and desperation she portrays throughout. This film would not work without the strong portrayals from both. Shyamalan’s script is very strong in character bits throughout; it feels like an intimate film with big ideas and the ending is compelling and makes you want even more of this world.

Shyamalan’s latest is a return to form and Split opens up a universe I would deifnitely like to see more films take place in. Highly recommended.