A Promising But Overrated Suspenseful Movie

Rating: 8/10 (2 March 2005)

In an undefined time and location, in a small isolated village leaded by the ancients, the villagers do not trespass the border of the surrounding forest and never use red color. The population have an old agreement with the weird and evil red dressed creatures called "Those We Don't Speak Of" in this regard. When the crazy Noah Percy (Adrien Brody) hurts the brave Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix), his blind fiancée Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) decides to challenge the menacing creatures, allowed by her father and leader of the community Edward Walker (William Hurt), and to go to the town to get some medicine to heal the wounds and save her beloved future husband.
I heard so many good comments from friends of mine about "The Village" that my expectations of watching an excellent movie were the higher possible. Indeed, the creepy beginning of the story was very scary and intriguing, supported by a great photography and atmosphere. However, after 60, 70 minutes running time, the plot becomes very boring and does not work well, without any twist. Suddenly, the plot point is disclosed very early, ending the mystery and the reality is not a great surprise to a conscious viewer. I was quite disappointed with this promising but overrated suspenseful movie. The sound effects contribute for some scary moments, but in the end, the excellent cast that has great performance deserved a better conclusion for such a mysterious story. Further, it is hard to believe in such a plot in the Twenty-First Century. Maybe, if the story took place in the 60's or in the 70's, it would be more credible. It is also amazing to see how easy is to the leaders to control a frightened society! My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "A Vila" ("The Village")