A good idea ruined... but still worth it.

Rating: 6/10 (30 April 2005)

In a socially uniform village in the middle of the woods, terrifying creatures dwell inches from its borders. When the story begins you are met with a series of secrets that you are unable to decode. Mixed with some effectively frightening scenes and the general feeling of mystery, the film is enjoyably suspenseful.
However, as most of Shyamalan's movies are, the story's first half is well done, but worsens as it progresses. Part of the Village's secret is revealed quite prematurely, allowing the viewer to expect the coming events, no matter how much they seem to contradict. Some things that still allowed the film to be enjoyable was the atmospheric music and the vividly natural forest setting.
What prevented the story from coming to a dull halt was the suspense of what will become of Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard), a blind young woman who is given permission to venture through the woods to get medicine for Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix), her boyfriend. He had been stabbed by Noah Percy (Adrian Brody), an insane man, who was also in love with Ivy. Some of the questions that need to be asked are "Why does Noah break out in laughter whenever the roars of the creatures are heard in the woods?" and "Why is Ivy allowed to venture through the woods, but nobody else?"
Besides being moderately thrilling and somewhat enchanting, the story also lays heavy on the aspects of unusual human behavior. Even with all of the movie's flaws, you may leave the theater thinking... "Would I have done the same thing?"