[Stingy Jack]

I just got back from a viewing of Shyamalan's The Village. Suffice it to say, I was VERY disappointed. I am going to discuss my thoughts on the movie here, and to do that, I need to talk about the plot twists. So, if you haven't seen the film, don't read any further if you don't want to know what happens.



First of all, the film isn't really that bad. Taken objectively, it is actually pretty good .... for what it is. However, for us die-hard horror fans who wanted something truly scary and atmospheric, we were cheated. The Village advertises itself as a horror movie ... but it is not. It is not a horror movie at all. For one, the monsters in the woods aren't even real! I thought that they would be, seeing as in his other films, the supernatural elements turned out to be real. But not in this one. Oh no. And not only are they not real, but you learn that they aren't real halfway through the movie! So, any scares that the film tries to produce after this fact is revealed all fall flat.

Plus, the unique "twist" at the end was pretty predictable. I knew that "the towns" on the other side of the woods were actually modern day cities when the woman told Ivy that her sister "was killed in an alley." You just don't have alleys in nineteenth century villages! So, I wasn't surprised by the ending at all.

But, let's just say that we don't watch The Village with the hopes of seeing a good, scary movie. Let's say we just go into the theater, not expecting anything. Only by doing this will you enjoy the movie. It does have it's saving graces. It is actually an interesting and thought-provoking story .... albeit, not a horror tale. The cinematography and music are all very well done, and add scores to the creepiness that the film does manage to produce at first. The acting seems a little odd and forced ... but this is because the characters who inhabit the village are acting. At least, the ones who first arrived there are. They are actually regular people from our time who have suffered injustices to the point that they wanted to create a place that preserves innocence. And so, they made the village. Well, you saw the movie ... you know the plot. It only makes sense that these regular people would have a hard time speaking the way they do, what with the clipped consonants and absence of contractions.

So, as a movie with no ties to any particular genre (other than, perhaps, thriller), The Village was fun to watch the first time ... but unworthy of a second viewing.

As a horror film ... it TOTALLY SUCKS! I went in there hoping for at least a few thrills, and got absolutely none. And Shyamalan slapped me in the face when I learned that there was really nothing to be scared of at all. Just villagers running about in costumes. I hate that man now. I really do.