Once again, this is not a horror movie, it's a philosophy movie

Rating: 4/10 (1 August 2004)

M. Night Shyamalan's major films are unique, (perhaps not so unique) in that Hollywood keeps marketing them as horror films when they are not. The Village continues that pattern with a period piece along the lines of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery.
If this film doesn't put you to sleep, it will annoy the heck out of you with it's inane "secrets." It touches on some intriguing ideas but never resolves them, and it threatens to scare you but never does. The only dope in the whole village who does anything is the character of Lucius, and he's a non-participant for the second half of the film. What a waste.
One thing that must be stated: Bryce Dallas Howard's performance was heartbreakingly wonderful. I was almost crying for her character at the end. I would've rated this film with a 1 out of 10, but because of her I put it four points higher.