yes

having bruce willis there really spoiled the ending for me... it's one thing to make an homage to another film, quite another to start putting different characters from one movie into another like what the studios are doing with all of these comic-book movies... seems childish, nerdy and really takes you out of the film experience

The only connection is that both films were directed by the same person, its not a big deal it just implies that they were set in the same universe

@Xsploit said:

The only connection is that both films were directed by the same person, its not a big deal it just implies that they were set in the same universe

Actually, after posting to this thread I did a little research (then deleted my post since I answered my own question) but this is in fact the 'sequel' to Unbreakable. So it's more than just the same universe. In fact, my understanding is that Unbreakable 2 is in the works where this character ('The Horde') is going to partner with Mr. Glass vs. David Dunn.

BTW, to answer the OP's question: no, you don't have to see one to see the other. Nothing in that film will enlighten this film save perhaps the fact that there are some super-human things happening to ordinary people.

@Daddie0 said:

@Xsploit said:

The only connection is that both films were directed by the same person, its not a big deal it just implies that they were set in the same universe

Actually, after posting to this thread I did a little research (then deleted my post since I answered my own question) but this is in fact the 'sequel' to Unbreakable. So it's more than just the same universe. In fact, my understanding is that Unbreakable 2 is in the works where this character ('The Horde') is going to partner with Mr. Glass vs. David Dunn.

this is what i loath about franchise filmmaking... I'm not watching the next one...

@Renovatio said: this is what i loath about franchise filmmaking... I'm not watching the next one...

Do you feel like you were tricked into watching this one? I went in with no idea about the connection, and having forgotten all about Unbreakable. I found the film fairly good, if a bit stinted, but for me the connection to Unbreakable (and future films) was quite clever. At least it wasn't a 'hit you over the head' sequel like Transformers 7 or Fast and Furious 24. (For the record I quit watching those...oh wait, I never really did.)

The reveal that Split is set in the Unbreakable universe is actually very relevant 'cause it ties up Kevin's Beast alter having superhuman ability, which was the big fantasy element＊ in the movie that previously stuck out. He's in the same class as Dunn and Mr. Glass in that they're all heroes and villains. Here, we get to see a villain origin story.

＊ The Beast alter is also a play on how people in real life with DID may have different abilities and features between their alters, such as one being left handed instead of right handed, one having different eyesight, one having its own disorder. This is in Split too, like where Dennis has OCD and the Beast took it even further, going into fantasy.

@Daddie0 said:

Do you feel like you were tricked into watching this one?

A little bit... kind of a bait-and-switch move... but that's not the part that really annoys me... it's that it could have clearly been a better movie without that element, if it had to stand on it's own... doing it the way they've done it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth... instead of the movie staying with us while we walk out of the theatre, trying to process the horror, we're immediately thinking about how this story fits into the others and the horror is entirely defused as we play franchise-movie-Tetris...

It's like if you saw Clint Eastwood's Hereafter and then at the end some Wolverine character pops up and sets the movie in the world of X-men and spandex... it'll destroy any spiritual or supernatural elements to it and ruins the mood of the film... It's like having a bite of a McDonalds cheeseburger after having eaten a nice grass-fed steak...

If you watch this movie knowing that it is a part of superhero series it removes a lot of the tension and scariness... Instead of being kidnaped by a deranged young man, you know the girls are kidnaped by some comic-book villain... it's less real, less seems at stake and it's less frightening.

When you watch the movie not knowing about any of the superhero stuff... by the time anything fantastical or supernatural happens you're already on board...

Also, if they didn't need to keep the storyline open for a sequel we could have gotten some climactic kills! Or they could have been freer to take it in another direction.

@Renovatio said:

... instead of the movie staying with us while we walk out of the theatre, trying to process the horror, we're immediately thinking about how this story fits into the others and the horror is entirely defused as we play franchise-movie-Tetris...

If you watch this movie knowing that it is a part of superhero series it removes a lot of the tension and scariness...

When you watch the movie not knowing about any of the superhero stuff... by the time anything fantastical or supernatural happens you're already on board..

I completely see what you are saying here. I guess for me I was able to enjoy both, a fact that would have been ruined had I known it was part of a comic-book franchise. So for me, I got the best of both worlds: a scary thriller with the bonus of a connection to a larger narrative. I'm sure on second viewing knowing the latter would change the experience completely as you have pointed out, but for me that was a good reason so save the reveal rather than to not have one at all. I think in the end this film being part of a larger series will increase it's durability, not diminish it, especially if future films are as thoughtful in development and execution.

@Daddie0 said:

@Renovatio said:

... instead of the movie staying with us while we walk out of the theatre, trying to process the horror, we're immediately thinking about how this story fits into the others and the horror is entirely defused as we play franchise-movie-Tetris...

If you watch this movie knowing that it is a part of superhero series it removes a lot of the tension and scariness...

When you watch the movie not knowing about any of the superhero stuff... by the time anything fantastical or supernatural happens you're already on board..

I completely see what you are saying here. I guess for me I was able to enjoy both, a fact that would have been ruined had I known it was part of a comic-book franchise. So for me, I got the best of both worlds: a scary thriller with the bonus of a connection to a larger narrative. I'm sure on second viewing knowing the latter would change the experience completely as you have pointed out, but for me that was a good reason so save the reveal rather than to not have one at all. I think in the end this film being part of a larger series will increase it's durability, not diminish it, especially if future films are as thoughtful in development and execution.

I went into this movie fully aware it was linked to Unbreakable and I still enjoyed it quite a bit, I just treated it as a supernatural mistery which is exactly what Split is. Of course I didn't expect for this movie to be scary in anyway and indeed I found nothing scary about it and I don't know why anyone would put it in the horror category it's just a thriller.

@Daddie0 said:

Actually, after posting to this thread I did a little research (then deleted my post since I answered my own question) but this is in fact the 'sequel' to Unbreakable. So it's more than just the same universe. In fact, my understanding is that Unbreakable 2 is in the works where this character ('The Horde') is going to partner with Mr. Glass vs. David Dunn.

I don't think the Horde will partner with mr. Glass. As we know mr. Glass is in prison and also mr. Glass is not actually evil just deranged, but then so is the Horde... anyway mr. Glass knows what he did was wrong but he did it anyway to find David Dunn and then basically gave himself up to him by allowing the handshake.

So what I think will happen is that David Dunn will use his friendship with mr. Glass to get insights into how to stop the Horde which seems to be also kind of "unbreakable". The relationship between Dunn and Glass would be IMO like Jody Foster's character and Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. I just hope it won't be too much of a ripoff.

I was completely unaware of any connection. Unbreakable is one of my favorite superhero movies. I watched Split blindly, so the connection at the end stunned me!

One second, I was watching a horror film not so unlike Cloverfield Lane, next second it dawned on me that I was watching a villain origin story!

Oh, and the lead actor was great. Better than he was in X-men or Narnia. I've always felt he was immensely talented since seeing him as in Children of Dune.

@lmao7 said:

I was trying to figure out why Bruce Wilis was there - like so random af! After reading that it was a reference to the film Unbreakable (which I haven't seen) - do I need to see it to get some back story on Kevin or the therapist? Or was it just some treat for the fans?

I even thought Casey would be Kevin like Fight Club lol..kinda reminded me of Psycho with the dress

If you have the desire to see Unbreakable, I think you should watch it just for the sake of watching it, not because it has anything to do with Split. I like Unbreakable.