Seems bad at first, until you think a little about it

Rating: 7/10 (12 August 2004)

I waited a couple of days before writing this review. I'm glad I did, because it doesn't seem as bad upon sober second thought as it did after first seeing it. I was even contemplating revealing the surprise ending, so that others didn't have to bother watching this film. But I won't give it completely away.
Yes, there is a twist at the end, although the twist pretty much gets revealed about 30-45 minutes from the end. The twist gets fleshed out in more detail from the first revelation to the final ending, and you are even wondering part way through if the twist is the real twist or if there is something even more twisted underneath. I'll let you know your first impression of this twist might be that it is a bit of a letdown.

But prior to the revelation of the twist, we have about another hour of character development. It's filled with very idyllic scenes of 19th century American village life. Simple people going about their simple lives. Communal dinners in the outdoors. People socializing with each other. It's almost like watching a documentary -- with scary music that is. I sometimes wonder if Shyamalan isn't really more cut out to do documentaries on simple people; most of his movies have had some scenes of simple peacefulness -- even The Sixth Sense. Really good scenes, and I dare say only Shyamalan could get away with putting such slow-moving scenes into a movie -- because you know that there is going to be a twist at the end which will put this idyllic life into perspective.
All I can suggest to you is don't be too disappointed by the ending, it's not as bad as it first seems.