The one thing I like most about M. Night Shyamalan's films is that he never fails to surprise his audience. And THE VILLAGE had me going up until the last few minutes, which is something considering I'm such a jaded viewer.The movie starts with a funeral-and a father weeping over the coffin of his dead seven-year-old son. The date on the tombstone says 1890-1897. The Village, as it's known, is built in a valley surrounded by Covington Forest. In this forest live strange, ferocious creatures, or so the Elders of the community tell their children. For years there has been a truce between the humans and the creatures-but now that truce has been broken. The creatures have overstepped the borders and are leaving skinned animal carcasses about and making these red colored marks on people's doors. Of course, everyone is terrified.When one of the young men is seriously injured it's reluctantly agreed that a party is sent out to 'the towns', to get medicine that would keep him alive. And what they experience-and ultimately find out as they travel through this forest-is a shocker.I think this is one of those movies, though, where you either really love it or really hate it. As I was exiting the theater I kept on overhearing people say that it was the worst movie that they'd seen, that it was a total waste of time. Of course, this is coming from your average overweight midwesterner whose idea of fine dining is going to Red Robin (I just mention this because this is where they said they were going to-which proves my point). If you hate thinking about a movie or don't want to see something unique, then don't bother seeing this film as it will probably confuse you.
The one thing I like most about M. Night Shyamalan's films is that he never fails to surprise his audience. And THE VILLAGE had me going up until the last few minutes, which is something considering I'm such a jaded viewer.The movie starts with a funeral-and a father weeping over the coffin of his dead seven-year-old son. The date on the tombstone says 1890-1897. The Village, as it's known, is built in a valley surrounded by Covington Forest. In this forest live strange, ferocious creatures, or so the Elders of the community tell their children. For years there has been a truce between the humans and the creatures-but now that truce has been broken. The creatures have overstepped the borders and are leaving skinned animal carcasses about and making these red colored marks on people's doors. Of course, everyone is terrified.When one of the young men is seriously injured it's reluctantly agreed that a party is sent out to 'the towns', to get medicine that would keep him alive. And what they experience-and ultimately find out as they travel through this forest-is a shocker.I think this is one of those movies, though, where you either really love it or really hate it. As I was exiting the theater I kept on overhearing people say that it was the worst movie that they'd seen, that it was a total waste of time. Of course, this is coming from your average overweight midwesterner whose idea of fine dining is going to Red Robin (I just mention this because this is where they said they were going to-which proves my point). If you hate thinking about a movie or don't want to see something unique, then don't bother seeing this film as it will probably confuse you.
