![]() ![]() ![]() In fact, it pretty much reshapes the entire purpose of the film Split isn't a hostage thriller, but a supervillain origin story. Building to this shocker is likely why some parts of the film feels a bit scattered or off base – it’s fair to assume this scene was one of the first conceived – but it does retroactively make the whole thing a lot more intriguing. It’s almost like 10 Cloverfield Lane, except instead of the connection being revealed at the end of the trailer, it’s after the film itself. It’s completely unexpected and more audacious than any other movie before Split a surprise sequel and nobody had a clue (the closest pre-release chatter comes from ScreenCrush calling it a "thematic sequel"). No matter your thoughts on Split's effectiveness as a thriller, this is an astounding twist. This ties into the bigger solution to this insular thinking that the director presents finding and accepting the compassion and understanding of others. What Shyamalan seems to be saying is that people suffering from mental health issues can view themselves as alone, not seeing their connection to the wider world. Casey is able to use a vague grasp of Kevin's mental fracturing to try and help herself escape while the other hostages can't concentrate, while the Beast doesn't kill Casey because he sees from her self-harm scars that she's similar to him. There's an interesting connection between those "damaged" people. 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. For Casey this manifests in her desire to be alone, with silence essentially her coping mechanism - she causes trouble so she can be sent to detention and get away from everyone. Both the protagonist and antagonist are the product of turbulent childhoods that have led to them becoming outsiders. On a thematic level, Split is predominantly about how people deal with abuse. The film provides a chilling representation of pedophilia - the grooming scene, with the adult wanting to “play animals” is terrifying, as is the power the uncle wields even when held at gunpoint - and goes to great efforts to show how it affected Casey's life growing up. In a series of flashbacks we see her being taught to hunt by her father, at first assumed to be the cause of her skewed view on the world, but later revealed as context for the horrific abuse at the hands of her uncle. The truth behind this, however, is rather haunting. Despite these social defects, over the course of the film, she shows a proactiveness and understanding of the dire situation that allows her to succeed where the others fail. She’s introduced as the weird kid who's always on her own and constantly getting into trouble, only invited to the birthday party from which the girls were kidnapped out of pity. While the film is ostensibly concerned with Kevin’s past, the person whose backstory we see elaborated on most explicitly is Casey's. After this murder spree, Kevin appears to have reached a point where the Horde is in full control and are able to bring the indestructible Beast out at will, making it him an almost Jekyll and Hyde superhero. ![]() In the third act, the Beast breaks out thanks to Dennis and kills two of the kidnapped girls, but allows protagonist Casey to live due to her own troubled past (which we’ll get to in a minute). It’s only alluded to in the film, but it appears to be based on the animals in the zoo above where Kevin lives. The Horde’s plan is to “unleash the Beast”, a mythical (at least in Kevin’s psyche) 24th personality. It’s important to note that while this is Kevin’s body, his personality doesn’t seem complicit in either side of this – when he finally does emerge, he begs to be killed, revealing that even though Barry and co are the good guys, they’re still going against the original personality’s will. Others try and break through to make a cry for help, but the Horde repeatedly pushes them back. The former two - who call themselves the Horde - are the darker sides of Kevin, who have previously been pushed down by Barry and the rest but break out by manipulating the childlike Hedwig, who is able to take control of the light at will. In the movie itself, the core personalities we meet are Dennis, Patricia, Hedwig and Barry. ![]()
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