Not what I expected, but quite good

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2004)

The trailer made The Village appear as if it would be a chilling horror movie with hideous monsters lurking in the woods ready to rend limb from limb any villagers stupid enough to enter but - SPOILERS AHEAD - we are thrown a curve ball and the movie is not what we expected. That, in itself, may be the reason why some people are giving this movie such bad reviews (some critics give it a B- and others an F ... which is why I never listen to what critics say). There is a Village - supposedly a 19th century village - which has settled in a valley that borders a wood that purportedly contains creatures ... "Those We Do Not Speak Of." There is a truce that the creatures or the villagers do not cross the barrier between them. But someone has and the creatures begin terrorizing the villagers. The elements of the movie, right there, are chilling but it is when one villager decides she needs to cross the woods to get to the towns on the other side that the movie takes a twist and we find out what the real secret of the Village is. I was waiting for the twist that M. Night has become known for and when it was revealed, I admit I went, "Huh?" But upon further reflection with my wife, I admit that I loved it. I found it to be an exceptional movie, but my only complaint is that it should not have been touted so heavily as an out-and-out horror movie. I gave it an 8 out of 10.