It's been a long time since word of a new M. Night Shyamalan movie stirred much more than a shrug. Only dimly remembered by now are the Oscar-nominated splash he made with "The Sixth Sense" in 1999 and the worthiness of its immediate successors, the eventual cult item "Unbreakable" and the box-office hit "Signs." Shyamalan began bombing with the preposterous films "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening." These were followed by attempted blockbusters, the bloated "Last Airbender" and the dire "After Earth," which bombed even bigger. Seldom has what at first looked like a major career taken such a baffling nosedive.

Now Shyamalan is back again, but this time the news is heartening. His 11th picture, "The Visit," is a nifty, screw-tightening horror movie, creepy and fleet (90 minutes) and filled with crisply delivered shocks. It's a clever refurbishing of the played-out "found footage" genre and also a pocket guide to horror flick history, reaching back to the Brothers Grimm and moving up through "Halloween" and "The Blair Witch Project" (and, of course, the "Paranormal Activity" films). As is not always the case with modern scare-fests, there's nothing dank or slashy about this one. It's a lot of fun.

The director has always had a special rapport with child actors, and he draws precocious performances from the two featured here — Olivia DeJonge, playing 15-year-old Becca, and fellow Australian Ed Oxenbould, playing her younger brother, Tyler. When their single mom (lovably scattered Kathryn Hahn) decides to go on a weeklong cruise with her current boyfriend, she ships the kids off for a first-time visit to her parents, who live in a big creaky house on a remote farm in rural Pennsylvania (Shyamalan's home turf and customary setting of choice). These grandparents — Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) — are sweet and welcoming at first. But things get weird pretty quickly.

Fortunately, Becca is prepared for all the crazy that follows. An aspiring filmmaker, she has come equipped with a video camera, and she has given her brother one, too. Shyamalan is especially skillful in handling this found-footage cliché; we never question how this or that shot could have been made because the director always makes it clear. And though there's some requisite shaky-cam stylization, it's also clear that a real cinematographer (Maryse Alberti, who filmed "The Wrestler" and "West of Memphis") was in charge.

Only a churl would give away the good stuff in this movie. Let's just say we have an ominous shed out back, a classically dark basement ("I'm gonna go down there") and a disturbing encounter under a porch. There's also a gross-out scene that sets a new standard for PG-13 ick. And of course, this being a Shyamalan movie, there's a sudden plot twist, too — and a pretty good one.

Shyamalan's past two films cost way north of $100 million each, and they were worthless. This one is said to have cost $5 million, and it's a real jewel. The man's still got it. And for the first time in years, we want to see more of it.

Kurt Loder is the film critic for Reason Online. To find out more about Kurt Loder and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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