‘Split‘ is a psychological thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, starring James McAvoy, Betty Buckley, and Anya Taylor-Joy. It is the first solo supervillain original film and a part of Shyamalan’s ‘Unbreakable‘ trilogy that began in 2000 starring Bruce Willis. Later, in 2019, ‘The Glass‘ dropped in the theaters. Although the film was criticized by mental health advocates, it proved to be a commercial success.
In ‘Split‘, McAvoy’s Kevin Wendell Crumb suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) due to his abusive childhood and abandonment issues. He develops 24 personalities each distinctive from the other. Throughout the film, we meet Dennis, Patricia, Hedwig, and the darkest of all – The Beast, all controlled by Barry. The former two are also the dark personalities of Kevin, who call themselves ‘the Horde’. With each personality switching to another, he undergoes a physical transformation as well. While one personality requires glasses, the other injects insulin shots and one faces obsessive-compulsive issues. These scenes are truly spine-chilling and a testament to Shyamalan’s classic style. One of the personalities kidnaps three teenagers and holds them, hostage, beneath the zoo where he works. Unfortunately, The Beast is out. So, what happens as the film reaches its climax?
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What Was The Twist At The End Of ‘Split’?
In the beginning, ‘Split‘ seemed like a normal movie, but how can that be possible when it is directed by M. Night Shyamalan? He is known for his gut-wrenching, disturbing segments. Like ‘The Sixth Sense‘ and ‘Unbreakable‘, Shyamalan delivered what he promised. Kevin suffers from DID, juggling between 24 personalities which leads to chaos. He kidnaps three teenage girls and locks them up in the basement.
The Beast kills the two other girls and his therapist and is on the run to kill Casey Cooke, played by Anya Taylor-Joy. The Beast has a rhino’s hard skin and strong nails that allow him to climb walls and is not affected by the bullets aimed at him. When he finally gets to her, he sees the scars of abuse and sympathizes with her calling her ‘pure’. The sole purpose of killing the other two girls was because they were ‘impure’ meaning they never faced any abuse. Pretty questionable and intriguing reason to choose your prey! Kevin when called out, realizes his crimes, and begs Cassy to kill him as he believes that it is only September 18, 2014.
Since the movie is known for twists, the ending is not simple, it is open to interpretation. In the final segment, Bruce Willis makes a cameo appearance, hinting at his involvement in the franchise. Kevin has also managed to escape, promising further chaos. There is definitely a possibility for these two villains to come together in the finale of the Unbreakableverse, ‘The Glass‘. As bravely as Casey faced the Beast, she also needed to face the Beast of her life, her uncle. When the inspector asks her to go with her guardian she looks with a bloody eye-shot, which conveys a lot more than shown.
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What’s The Theme Of ‘Split’?
The movie not only focused on Dissociative Identity Disorder but also played around with a darker theme of abuse. The focus of ‘Split’ might be Kevin, but it compels viewers to sympathize with Casey while consistently providing a glimpse into her past. The only commonality between the protagonist and antagonist of ‘Split’ is that both were victims of childhood abuse. Something that killed her every day saved her and empowered her to face her demons. For Casey, this manifests in her desire to be alone, with silence essentially her coping mechanism. Kevin’s is a more extreme case, hinted to come from a darker past, where he’s completely repressed the pain and in doing so birthed new personalities to cope with the trauma.
Apart from childhood abuse, the movie touches on other dark matters as well. In a series of flashbacks we see Casey being taught to hunt by her father, at first assumed to be the cause of her skewed view of the world, but later revealed as context for the horrific abuse at the hands of her uncle. The film presents a chilling representation of pedophilia. The grooming scene, with the adult wanting to play animals, is disturbing, as is the power the uncle wields even when held at gunpoint, and goes to great lengths to show how it affected Casey’s life growing up. What Shyamalan tries to convey is that people suffering from mental health issues often view themselves as alone, not seeing their connection to the wider world.
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