Not as good as I hoped ...

Rating: 6/10 (29 December 2006)

By this point M. Night Shayamalan has become one of the most commercially accessible thriller directors, with movies often rated PG-13 allowing a broader spectrum of viewers to witness his own unique take on the genre by combining (or sometimes creating false illusions of)supernatural elements with a very Hitchockian directing technique. Thus providing us with a truly memorable and suspenseful cinematic experience.
So what happened in "The Village"? All the characteristics from his previous films are here : the direction , the interesting story concept and some fairly good performances from the cast. All in all the movie feels similar to what we have seen so far from him. And that in a way is the problem. People have become somewhat attuned to his films, they know what to expect.A specific example is his use of the "plot-twist" device, its quite easy once you've seen lets say the "Sixth Sense" (which by itself was a fine movie with a truly shocking final twist) to expect the one in the "The Village" , you might not guess it completely but you'll know its coming thus somewhat eliminating its effect .
Still Shayamalan is able to create a pleasant atmosphere for a thriller with the idea of a town surrounded by something which might not really be human . There are several very tense moments that could make the viewer jump. Treading the line between realism and fantasy.
Overral though once you've seen the movie, there won't be anything more to get back to. In the end the plot becomes entirely clear leaving nothing for the viewer to self-interpret-ate or think about that could require a need for a second viewing.
"The Village" is not a bad movie and even though it feels way too similar to Shayamalan's previous work it still delivers if only partially what it promises. I recommend it to any die-hard fan of the genre or to anybody not familiar with Shayamalan's previous movies.