Confusing

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2004)

The Village, are two words that did nothing but conjure up bad press. So i decided to check it out for myself to see what was so 'bad' about it. So, with two mates i got myself down to a cinema screen and sat back ready to view the film with an open mind. No really, i did.
My verdict- it isn't THAT bad. It has its fair share of flaws but the film itself isn't worth the negativity it's getting. The character IVY, was excellent. She was the main reason why i was compelled to watch the whole film. Along with the 'simple' guy. Phoenix was nothing special. Sigourney- lets not go there. (what was she doing?).
*SPOILERS SPOILERS and then some more SPOILERS*
The first emotion this film managed to evoke from me was.. laughter. When Ivys sister blurts out her undying love for Lucius, from which she gets a response she doesn't want to hear, the scene cuts to her hysterically crying in her mum/relatives arms. Everybody in the theatre was laughing. I couldn't help thinking- was that supposed to make us laugh? Because if it wasn't, then Night mate, what you doing?
Lines i couldn't bear to hear- "those we do not speak of" "the bad colour" "the good colour" WHAT?! Just as the film was gaining some kind of credibility, in my eyes, someone uttered those infantile words and that ounce of credibility was sent crashing down. To me, them lines are just a big massive NO. NO NO NO. Maybe it's just me, but that was a fatal error in the script.
The actual 'monsters' lurking in the woods- now aren't they something to talk about!
The first glimpse we catch of the 'scary' monster, is when Lucius is hiding from it, and it's walking up to the door of a house. IT wears a hooded robe of the 'bad colour' *oOooO scaaary*, and has the basic stature of an over-sized man. The fact that the monsters shape is similar to that of a human, immediately takes off scare-factor points for me. M.Night, son- NO. IT also has porcupine/hedgehog-like spikes protruding from the hunch of its back. WHAT?! is that meant to be some kind of weapon? Does it 360 at the speed of light and gauge your eyes out with them? does it use them as a support to lie on? Or maybe IT uses them to carry its child with??!! All they do is make it resemble a certain character out of an old series called Dinsoaurs, in which a rubber dinosaur family enact a Simpson-like life, and that ain't horror, i can tell you. Anyone agree with me on that one? I really struggle to understand the point of them. If they were put there for 'scare-factor points', then once again- M.Night, son- NO NO.
Further on, Night blindly insists on showing us the face and all, of 'those we do not speak of'. When Ivy's father invites Ivy to go into 'the shed we must not go into' *give me strength!*, we get a full view of IT, and at that point, i felt kind of empty. Why?- because that was the last straw i was ever so faithfully clutching onto, for Night. I gave Night a chance, and then some, to prove them haters wrong but he'd pushed it too far with that little stunt. ITs face was pig/dog/bear-like. WHAT??!! so now we have a pig/dog/bear faced thing, with hedgehog/porcupine-like spikes sticking out its back, and long fingers with fungus filled claws on it? The mind boggles on how anyone with an I.Q above that of half a hollowed out peanut, would find THAT scary.
Here's a suggestion Night- Don't SHOW US it. I strongly believe, that if we hadn't been given us a full frontal of the monster, or any kind of glimpse, in fact, The Village would have been much much better. And i've got quite a few people that agree with me on that one. The imagination is a powerful thing Night. Yet, you insisted on ignoring that fact and persisted on ruining, what could have been, a half decent film. Tu tut.
Despite my passionate deep-rooted hate towards the mutated monsters, there were parts where i did feel my heart beat. When Ivy's blindly going it alone in the woods (excuse the pun), and IT charges at her- as much as my cynical side was screaming at the top its worn-out lungs that it wasn't scary in the slightest, that scene did reignite the Night spark, however temporary it may have been. Ivys clever thinking of standing stock-still on the rim of the ditch she once fell in, ready to move out the way once IT was in close proximity from charging at her, was genius (although, how that open hole- from Ivys fall- managed to re-seal itself for the demise of 'simple' guy A.K.A IT, remains a mystery).
There were quite a few scenes that made you jump. I actually kind of bruised my arm on the armrest of my chair, as a result of one of my 'jumps'. Can't help but laugh. Those 'jumps' were just that though- jumps, without substance, serving no purpose but in the end-result, and failing to add to the film in any kind of way.
The central theme- of Ivy and Lucius's love for one another, i found to be potentially brilliant. The actress playing Ivy was excellent. The 'love' between the two itself wasn't all that, but it's how it was expressed that made it compelling. Ivy reaching out for him (literally) in times of need, was touching. In the scene where Ivys standing on the front porch refusing to hide in the cellar, along with the rest of her family, because she's adamant that Lucius will grab her hand and take safety with her, is one that stayed in my mind. This was probably down to the way it was filmed- the uplifting music, the sense of danger: Lucius takes her hand a split second before the monster does, the dash to safety holding hands, the confirmation of Lucius's feelings towards her.
Another: when Ivy finds out about Lucius's condition through the mouth of an extra, and in disbelief, marches through an open field with her hand reaching out, in the hope that Lucius would take hold- brilliant.
Overall, The Village gets a 6.5/10 from me. Great idea Night, but think a lot harder before you put ideas to screen.