One Of Shyamalan's Weaker Efforts

Rating: 4/10 (26 March 2009)

I've liked a lot of M. Night Shyamalan's movies, ("Signs" and "The Sixth Sense" jump to my mind immediately) but to me at least "The Village" didn't quite live up to expectations. The mystery supposedly hidden in this movie about this village faced with mysterious creatures living in the woods surrounding it isn't particularly well-hidden. I figured that out about half way through when I realized that one of the men was wearing a very modern-looking suit, whereas the movie sets you up to think of this as being set somewhere in the past. I realized at that point that what we were dealing with here wasn't really a horror movie; it was more of a psychological study of what was essentially cult-like behaviour: a group of people who have chosen to isolate themselves from society, and who use fear as a method of mind-control to prevent people from leaving. In that, it didn't really provide anything of earth-shaking importance - it simply painted a portrait of life in this "village," and it did so with a number of problems hanging over it. To me, it was inconceivable that such a village could be kept totally isolated, given the need for people in the "real world" to guard it (as the ending of the movie makes clear.) That bit of unreality aside, the predictability of the story took a lot of enjoyment away from it, as did the strange decision to have the characters speak in that stilted manner of speech that they used. That seemed to have no logical purpose other than to help to create an atmosphere that convinces you that you're dealing with a community that existed generations ago. Why would they adopt that manner of speech? What difference would it make to them? It really didn't make sense, and frankly it became quite annoying after a while. With the words used and the way the lines were being delivered, it was kind of like watching a movie that starred a cast of emotionless and over-proper Vulcans (if you get the Star Trek analogy.) I have to say that I was disappointed. Shyamalan can do (and has done) a lot better than this.