The Essential is the Message (possible Spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2004)

Some have said this film is disappointing, especially when compared to other M. Night films. While I'll agree that The Village may not be his strongest film, it is still worth seeing.
M. Night's purpose for this film is not the plot, or the "love story" or even the "horror" of the monsters. It is the underlying message of a group of people that feel so disgusted by the world as it is that they "start over," in a sense, by continuing their families in an isolated, Amish-like community. They go to great lengths to preserve the secrecy of their establishment, sacrificing truth and quite possibly the freedom of their children. However, when the need for modern medical supplies arises, the man who originally developed the plan is forced to share the secret with his daughter in order to save the life of another villager.
In the film, the audience begins to see this man break down as he and the group of "elders" start to question the true intentions of their elaborate plan to preserve innocence. This picture made me rethink the value of modern conveniences, the affect of culture and media among our society and perhaps our own lost innocence.
I will admit, I am not much of a movie buff, and I (along with perhaps most of the general public) have not seen every "twisted plot/suspense/horror" film made, so I did not see anything "predictable" about this film. I did not expect the ending that happened, and I realized after the first 20 minutes that M. Night was not showing me a "horror" film - there was something deeper there that was slowly unveiled throughout the rest of the film. That deeper message is what this film was about, and not necessarily the surface story.