M. Night's forth frightener

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2005)

THE VILLAGE is a lot of the same main basics as M. Night Shyamalan's previous movies, the sort of something's up topic works very well every time, and Shyamalan has a very special way, and fascinating too, of telling and directing them.
THE SIXTH SENSE being his breakthrough, UNBREAKABLE being a more calmed movie, SIGNS being a religious based frighetener and his last THE VILLAGE is truly just another of his gems with the extraordinary ending and revealing of something odd.
We meet a bunch of villagers living in a, off course village. They're having a quiet silent life with the woods around them protecting them and keeping them for themselves, although the woods hide something terrible. The villagers aren't allowed to walk into the forest because "those who we don't speak of" live there. Some mysterious and aggressive creatures that's made a peace deal with the village people... but as soon as the rebellious and seeking Lucius Hunt breaks the deal, with entering the woods... the whole thing is suddenly turned upside down.
THE VILLAGE is beautiful, dramatic, fascinating and exciting. With very well working concept, romance, dialog and acting the movie works completely on most levels, although it misses sadly enough on probably it's biggest target; the horror. The movie isn't very much of a fright actually, it's entertaining and fascinating, not scary. And this may be a big let-down for people who expect being scared out of the chair, cause in my position I really never got to that point. But; it's exciting at times and the movie never looses focus and you always have to have your eyes on the screen. Joaquin Phoenix does a great performance (as good as in Signs) and so with William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver and Adrien Brody, AND the blind girl worth remembering! It's a movie worth watching, and it's beautiful watching! Really! STARS: 4/5