Nice concept - poor execution.

Rating: 1/10 (6 October 2005)

The village was an so-so movie based on an interesting idea. All the actors were believable in their parts (save one), the scenery and cinematography was good, the set was rather neat, and the suspense and mystery was satisfying though not gut wrenching. So what's wrong with it?
Well first off is the thought that you could have a sufficient size plot of land to support some 100 people in the middle of Pennsylvania and, 1)keep it secret from outsiders, 2)keep it secret from insiders. While PA is not wall to wall city, it certainly is settled enough to make this impossible. And the "no planes flying over" agreement was priceless - in a heavy air corridor on the east coast?
Next, fine group of progressive liberal thinking social workers this bunch is. When they're attacked just like the people they're supposed to help, and the going gets tough, what do they do? Work with the police to increase patrols? Form neighborhood watches? Set up security cameras, buy sling shots? Nope, they cut out. Truly dedicated social workers.
Back to the village. As the story begins to get interesting, one of the characters is injured. So who do we send for medicine? I know, let's send THE BLIND GIRL, she'll do anything. What!!! If you believed that there are evil beings in the woods, or at least say you do, why, why, WHY would you send the BLIND girl? Even woods not filled with evil creatures would be treacherous enough that you'd never consider sending someone who is blind.
OK, so off she goes. Now Bryce Dallas Howard who plays Ivy Walker, the blind girl, did a fine job - except that from time to time she forget she was blind. Merely having someone look at the ground and moan "foo, I wish I could see", is not enough.
In the woods she encounters one of the evil creatures - and deftly dispatches him like a Navy SEAL. What? Was he blind too? No. Then how could a young blind girl trick a sighted creature into falling into a hole? Either she took lessons from the blind Kung Foo master or she used "the force."
She reaches the outside wall and somehow immediately knows to climb over it - going around it never crosses her mind. She doesn't even explore the breadth of it to see if it's possible to go around. Maybe there's a lower section, stairs, a doorway, a gate, a fallen tree. No, SEALs only travel by straight line so over she goes.
Once over the wall she encounters a security guard. She's not the least bit curious about this wonderful hard, flat, and wide path she's on or even if she's made it to the next village. He isn't very curious about where a blind girl might have come from and she doesn't seem to know. But he agrees to help her get the medicine and off he goes - leaving the blind intruder standing in the middle of the road. Some security guard.
He arrives at the guard shack and is conveniently (for the gaps in the storyline) admonished about what happens to those that talk to intruders too much and, in case he was wondering, told why planes don't fly over. He then walks to the medical supply cabinet (which is there for all the intruders that get attacked by animals but never get over the wall and make it to the village?) The cabinet has the exact medicine(s)and hypodermic needles needed (lucky us). The supply of medicine in this cabinet would put a Long's Drug Store to shame. How many intruders do they have anyway? Thank goodness they're not kept under lock and key, and there's no need to sign them out.
Presumably he returns to Ivy with the medicine(she's still standing in the road, I guess) and gives it to her - then he drives off no questions asked leaving the mysterious blind intruder still standing in the middle of the road. Or maybe he helps her over the wall. Brilliant.
I'll stop here. You're tired, I'm tired, and my ability to dismiss reality is stretched well beyond its limits. There is more but I think you see why I'm less than thrilled with this movie.