This was your last chance M. Night Shyamalan!

Rating: 1/10 (21 August 2004)

And you blew it.
I have seen all of his major films: 6th Sense, predicted. Unbreakable, enjoyed and was hoping for the rumored "trilogy" to come. Signs, whoopty-freaking-do. The Village, Please stop him making any more films.
This was his last chance for me, really. Shyamalan is a master of setting, there is no doubt. It is when he just plain uses the "insert twist you just KNOW is coming" he falls apart. Let's get this straight with him: He is NOT the master of THE TWIST. He caught a lucky break with the pop culture buzztalk of 6th Sense and that is all. He had master cinematographer Roger Deakins (of Coen Bros. films and perhaps one of the best in the business as far as I'm concerned) working for him, but it's an untapped talent gone to waste in this pretentious wad of ego. He had top acting talents such as Weaver and Hurt, but they are merely skirted to lackluster supporting roles.
(I wanted to give Hurt a dang comb the entire time he was on the screen.)
The plot as you well know, revolves around a 19th century village (gee, hence the title) that is basically kept there by some monsters lurking in the woods. Neat. Too bad there are too many disappointing answers to the questions raised. The Script, stilted and shallow. The Acting, wooden. The Story, predictable.
By the previews I was really hoping for something with some substance. Perhaps a modern interpretation of a pagan myth element come to life in the vein of a Hammer picture? Nope, it was just a Shyamalan-a-thon. A loss of innocence tale done with a generalized heavy hand.
When I went, 8 people walked out when the twist was finally revealed. Were they let down or was it that too many people in the audience were cracking jokes and laughing at this mess?
I know his work is greatly respected by people. His simplicity of story and attention to atmosphere is perhaps the most ambitious in Hollywood, but the mix never really turns out right. It's like oil and water. And with his popularity on the Hollywood A-list, it seems to me that his film-making will only get more "M. Night Shyamalan-esque" and that is just a crying shame. 1 outta 5