Another classic makes history!

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2005)

M. Night Shyamalan is a true genius. He defies today's bloody, slasher or bang-em-up flics for classic offerings only dared by such movie makers as Rod Sterling and Alfred Hitchcock. Some may say he lives in the shadows of "The Six Sense". I happen to think he is only getting started in developing a true craft that no one else in Hollywood today can master.
What is also forgotten in many reviews that you may read here is the signature "everything-is-not-as it-seems" factor that is masterfully created in The Village. Within this controlled environment lies a secret pact held by elders to protect their young from the sins of the world. A promise to create a community where innocence can prosper. Keeping them there are mysterious creatures...boogie-men of sorts....who liive in the woods that surround them. This story is about protecting love ones from harm (whether it be a parent to a child, or a young man and young woman), from protecting the weak from evil. Yet it is the "weak" who surprise us. And innocence lives on. A well-thought and well-executed tale that can only be told by this master of suspense.
Just as in "The Six Sense" and "Signs", there are frights and chills. Just as in "The Six Sense" and "Signs", there is a twist in the plot. Just as in "The Six Sense" and "Signs", I loved the characters and loved the ride for which I was taken. The twist may not be as powerful as The Six Sense, the chills may not be as fresh, but the story is just as meaningful and awe-inspiring. And the "everything is not as it seems" factor is just as developed. That is what makes M. Night Shyamalan is a true genius.
Brilliant! Can't wait for the next M. Night Shyamalan film.