They don't make 'em like this any more...

Rating: 10/10 (1 September 2004)

The Village is definitely not a film that I would recommend for those who are merely wanting a good scare or gore fest, and it's unfortunate that the film was marketed in that way. In fact, it really is nothing of the sort. Rather, it's a highly atmospheric two hours in which my occasional boredom during the first half was changed into a--yes, I've gotta say it--spiritual type of awe at what was unfolding before my eyes during the latter half. There can be no doubt that the potent combination of the two Howards, James Newton Howard, whose highly affecting score drove the film's level of emotion to unscaled heights at times, and actress Bryce Dallas Howard, makes for some really profound moments. Dallas Howard's appearance on screen is at once arresting and evocative of something past that is unrecapturable: more than once, I found that, looking at her, my mouth had opened unbeknownst to me, but as I noticed other theatergoers experiencing the same loss of self awareness, I didn't feel so foolish. The Village certainly has some flaws ie, some camera shots near the end make the point of the film too obvious (in a film such as this, the more subtle, the better...). But in the final analysis, I left the theater changed. Highly Recommended...