Audience Participation Req'd, but not as you'd expect.

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 2002)

**Possible Mild Plot Spoilers Forthcoming** Many moviegoers are jaded today. This has affected the way we see movies. Not just our viewing habits, but actually the way we perceive the films themselves. Horror is an incredibly mood dependent genre, and one difficult to accomplish without some measure of audience participation.

The expert craftsmanship of M. Night Shyamalan as a filmmaker is evident in this film's use of traditional horror elements, from the Hitchcock inspired credits and score, to the "fake scare, now...jump!" techniques, even paying homage to old B-style invasion movies with a genuinely creepy military officer in a minor role providing some exposition while echoing other marines with similarly angular haircuts. With all of these elements, his direction takes and uses time honored traditions, and adds his own brand of magic, to save the movie from descending into camp, and to give a meaningful message to transcend a genre that has been done many times before.
If a viewer walks into this film believing they can't be frightened by it, they are right, and I pity them. The power of belief is a strong theme in this movie, that filmgoers would do well to recognize. Accepting the film's reality is essential to relating to the situations, and experiencing fear. Other reviewers comment on the "unrealistic" physical weakness of the Intruders, failing to notice that the film establishes them as physically no more powerful than a little boy. If this easily dispelled "error", or the Christian elements involving a man in a crisis with his faith which are in line with his established character, have gotten in the way; then the viewer has missed something. The opportunity to enjoy a horror movie made "like they don't make 'em anymore", flavored by a brilliant modern director is worth a small leap of faith.