Hmmm... (Spoilers ahead)

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 2004)

In order to keep this short I'll skip the introduction i.e. the synopsis. By now everybody knows the premise, so I'll feel free to just cut to the chase, my thoughts of "the Village". Problems with the movie are, as follows: 1) Definitely overlong. Pretty much nothing (scary, that is) happens the first hour through. Who needs an hour long introduction anyway? Maybe M.Night felt forced to 'give everybody room' after he realized that he's got 'too big a cast' - even the town crazy is played by a fresh Academy Award (tm) winner. OR, maybe M.Night realized that this time his (tm) Big Surprise At the End can be guessed too easily on and tried to "play time" or divert the viewer from guessing. If that's the case, he failed. 2) The overall feeling is so heavy (not to mention that first half is slllloooowwwww) it almost suffocates the whole movie. Where's the humour? 3) Casting is odd. 4) Music grows annoying (if I hear so much as one more note played with a damn violin this year, I'm going to kill somebody!)
And the good sh*t, as follows. 1) The movie isn't "bad". It's "odd". 2) Original, if something. But not THAT interesting (at least after that first hour...) 3) Does deliver a reasonable amount of scares. 4) Well photographed. If you want to be a horror- director someday, you should check here how to make plain woods seem scary or use music to stage scenes.
I don't count the 'too easily guessable end surprise' as a demerit, since it shouldn't of have been the point here (good scares should be the point). But it's a pity the movie itself doesn't see it this way and instead uses too much of its potential trying to keep the surprise at the end. And failing in it. Without a doubt Shyamalan's worst. 3 out of 5.