Atmospheric drama

Rating: 7/10 (23 May 2009)

I'd heard some fairly mixed reviews for The Village but decided to give it a go when it was on television as I'd enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan's earlier film The Sixth Sense. While I didn't think it was as good as that film it was still fairly good.
Set in what appears to be a nineteenth century village the locals live in fear of the strange creatures that live in the surrounding woods, this fear is so great that none of the younger generation have ventured through the woods to the towns they know are beyond them. Since the village elders have had bad experiences in the towns the younger villages aren't that keen to risk going through to woods to go to them any way. This changes when Lucius asks permission to venture through the woods to get medicine from the town that he thinks may help his friend Noah who has learning difficulties. While he isn't given permission to go, Ivy the blind girl who loves him, has to make the journey when Lucius's life is in danger.
I've tried to avoid as many spoilers as possible as hinting at plot twists could spoil the film. I suspected the final twist fairly early in the film but right up until the reveal I wasn't certain about it so it still worked. The acting was good, especially Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy and William Hurt as her father Edward Walker. While there are a few scares and there is a fairly creepy atmosphere there is very little gore and no offensive language so it is suitable for most ages. If this is on television it is worth watching and perhaps worth picking up on DVD if you spot it in the bargain section; I've only seen it once but suspect it would be enjoyable even when one knows how it ends.