Universal picks up M. Night Shyamalan's low budget 'The Visit'

M. Night Shyamalan has been the butt of Hollywood jokes over the past few years, with several big budget flops on his resume. But the Signs director has to be commended for his refusal to give up. In fact, he’s decided to go back to his roots for his next film, a low-budget horror movie that Universal picked up today.

Since the film, titled The Visit, was made with Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum, it’s no surprise that Universal picked it up. The studio has a first-look deal with Blum, who was also behind the recent hit Ouija.

According to Deadline, which first reported on the deal, Universal has picked Sept. 11, 2015 as the release date for the film.

The movie is set at a remote Pennsylvania farm, where a brother and sister uncover some disturbing secret hidden by their grandparents. Variety reports that the movie was already filmed, but the cast has been kept a secret at this point.

While Shyamalan saw incredible success with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, his recent works have been flops. After Earth, made for Sony and starring Will Smith, only made $240 million worldwide and cost $130 million to make. So, perhaps a return to low-budget filmmaking will rejuvenate Shyamalan's career.

The director recently helmed the Fox pilot Wayward Pines, which airs next year.

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