Only three months into the new year and critics are praising “Split” as the best movie of 2017. “Split” is an eye-popping, visually dynamic, intense jump-out-of-your-seat thriller. Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) has been diagnosed with split personalities and kidnaps a girl named Casey Cooke (Haley Lu Richardson) along with two of her friends who desperately fight to stay alive. He accomplishes this while escaping a complicated, highly unusual situation before his 24th personality emerges, which would make for an unpleasant future for Casey and her friends.

Both intense and realistic, “Split” builds suspense because Kevin has 23 different personalities, so there is no way to tell when he might change or who he might become. The girls might be greeted by Dennis, Kevin’s strict first personality who’s a custodian and afraid of germs, or Patricia, a very weird, laid-back individual. Kevin immerses himself in character’s personality so much that he puts on a dark red dress with hoop earrings and six-inch high heel shoes. The girls also encounter a kind, witty personality named Hedwig, a boy of nine who takes orders from Patricia and Dennis.

Later in the movie, we meet a psychologist by the name of Dr. Karen Fletcher who Kevin sees regularly for his condition. The two share a unique connection, and Dr. Fletcher seems to understand Kevin more than other people and she believes that people with split personalities are higher beings beyond human comprehension.

The movie doesn’t connect with the three girls’ personal background, which is kind of unusual but worked for this particular movie. The setting is creepy and eerie: for instance, the cloudy day brings a dreadfully depressing feel along with the horrifying set. The dull building that Kevin traps the girls in has very few colors and the walls are debilitated.

This movie engrosses viewers keeping them scared of what might happen next, but making sure they can’t look away. The graphics are amazing and there is a lot of thought put into what Kevin Wendell Crumb and all 23 of his personalities will look like. For those into really weird, creepy, cringe-inducing movies who want to be freaked out—go get a ticket to “Split” before it leaves theaters. The movie gives some helpful tips on what to do if you get kidnapped by a man with split personalities.