The Village; a fairy tale commentary on today's society?

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2004)

DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE OR WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
'The Village' was not what I was expecting but I still enjoyed it. The movie was very Grimm fairy tale-esque as opposed to the sci-fi of 'Signs' or the ghost story of 'The Sixth Sense'. But with all Shyamalan's movies I have seen there is always a theme behind the horror, such as losing faith in 'Signs'.
All fairy tales are metaphors for something else in society, with the woods being a classic example. A young girl enters the woods and finds a dangerous but temping creature imploring her to pick flowers off the path instead of going straight toward her grandmother's. A brother and sister are cruelly abandoned there when their parents chose to no longer care for them. There they find a candy house that seems to good to be true with, unbeknownst to them, a hungry witch lurking inside.
In 'The Village' there is no wolf or witch. The danger of the woods are the villagers themselves. The village leaders are using fear of the fabricated "Those We Don't Speak Of" to keep their people under control, away from the outside world and, in their minds, safe. Even without our current political situation this tale's metaphor is timeless. But, as with all fairy tales, it can be interpreted however the viewer chooses. So take what it gives you and run with it.