Classic Shyamalan

Rating: Null/10 (30 July 2004)

Alright, I am an absolute horror movie nut. I have never been closer to horror heaven than when Samara crawled out of that friggin' television at the end of "The Ring" and I get all orgasmic every time the next scary trailer hits the theater... So I have to admit, I had high hopes for a seriously scary movie when I went to see "The Village" this afternoon. And granted, it wasn't the sort of scary I had my clenched fists all set for, but it was something else altogether.
Now, I must preface my opinion of this film by saying that I am of the opinion that M. Night Shyamalan is absolutely the Hitchcock of my generation. His films are intricately detailed and expertly set prime specimens of perfect story telling. He is a movie-making legend in his own time. And while I waded through the comments of disappointed movie-goers on my way back to the parking lot, shuffled through the befuddled faces of everyone who came to the theater just looking for a cheap thrill and scream sequence or two, I began running the movie over again in my head as I always do of Shyamalan's films, and I realized something...
I LOVED this movie! I could not care less how many disillusioned know-it-alls claim to have had the twist figured out a half hour into the film and that the ending was not to their liking. Blah, blah, blah... The story was unique and original and provided every twist I could hope for in a Shyamalan movie, and made quite an interesting comment on society, to boot. The cast was wonderful. I spent many dialogue sequences in the beginning of the film wondering why the language seemed so forced, and when the twist hit at the end and I understood why the banter didn't seem genuine, I was all that much more impressed with the acting and set-up! I was very impressed with the performance of Bryce Howard and am eternally grateful to Kirsten Dunst for choosing not to complete the role of Ivy...(not a big fan.)
So, anyway, in summary, there were some genuinely scary scenes throughout the movie, but perhaps not as scream inducing as some might expect. Go see this film in search of classic Shyamalan talent and a spooky good time and you CANNOT be let down.