Starts out decently, then disappoints

Rating: 4/10 (25 August 2005)

An absorbing, tense, creepy drama for the most part. The earlier part of the movie does a fine job developing the various characters, and building a sense of dread and mystery about the horror surrounding the town.
However, the "twist" is revealed much too early, and made Ivy's journey through the woods nearly meaningless. Why not wait to reveal what Ivy's father told her until later in the movie? It would have made the journey much more terrifying. It just didn't make any sense to me, and made the rest of the movie rather anticlimactic.
I felt Joaquin Phoenix was a major disappointment. I get that he was the strong, silent young stud of the village, but his acting was nearly comatose. William Hurt was exceptional, as was Bryce Dallas Howard and Adrien Brody.
Started out very well, and could have been a very good atmospheric thriller, but just lost it's way and fizzled out.