The Village

Not necessarily a horror film, but a character study with elements of horror
By: Scott Andrews

I went to see M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" today.

Well, that's handy seeing as though this is a review of The Village. It'd be weird if that was how you started your Poseidon review. Or if you started with "I didn't see The Village today or any other day" or even "I went to see The Village three years ago, it is not fresh in my mind, let's see what I can recollect."

First things first... I won't even discuss a SINGLE aspect of the plot, here,

Wow, that's pretty helpful. "I just heard the new Coldplay album, but I won't be discussing a SINGLE song here."

so you can read this safely.

Phew. Cause sometimes I read a review and they mention the plot and I die.

I will say this: If you plan to see the movie, do not read a single review (besides mine!).

I wish you'd told me that before I happened to stumble across your review in a pile of thousands on the imdb comments section... Cause I've read like three other reviews (besides yours!)

As with most of Shyamalan's films, the less you know about the plot going in, the better.

Also as with most of Shyamalan's films, the less you actually watch of the film, the better.

As far as the quality of the film... it is solid.

Why the suspense? It's not like we're hiding out in a dark alley and you're checking if the coast is clear.

"As far as the quality of the film..." looks around to see if anybody is coming "... it is solid."

PHEW!

Beautifully directed, well acted, dramatic, scary, sometimes funny, and with some great plot twists.

PLOT TWISTS?! OH MAN! Now I know there's plot twists I'm just going to be trying to figure out what they are?! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T GOING TO SPOIL ANYTHING!?

It is not as good as "The Sixth Sense", but it's probably not fair to keep comparing Shyamalan's work to his first big hit, one of the best psychological horror films ever made.

You're right comparing one of M. Night's films to another one of M. Night's films is downright uncalled for.

A director could work his entire career and never make a SINGLE film as good as "The Sixth Sense", let alone recapture that movie's amazing brilliance.

See: Rob Cohen.

But, I hear you asking, is "The Village" better than "Unbreakable" and "Signs" (Shyamalan's second and third films)???

Wait, so we can't compare The Village to The Sixth Sense but we're allowed to compare it to Signs & Unbreakable (in real life his FOURTH AND FIFTH FILMS! They have a filmography on this website for a reason douche.)???

Well, that depends on what you thought of those films.

Well, no shit.

Personally, I'd probably say that it is a better film than those two.

Really? You're going to tell us your opinion in the review you're writing, you live life on the proverbial edge.

At the very least it is more sophisticated, with stronger themes, a much bigger and better cast, and more subtle surprises than in those two films.

I love films with bigger casts. It's always such a treat, I have a thing for long credits sequences.

"The Village" continues Shyamalan's pattern of there being twists in the plot, but this time there are SEVERAL of them and they occur sporadically throughout the film...not one big one at the end.

Look, you made it perfectly clear that reading your review would not ruin the film and then you spend the whole time letting us know that there are twists littered throughout the movie. Double U Tea Eff, bro.

You WILL be surprised by the film, but don't expect to be bowled over.

Unless you are bowled over, in which case that would probably be the biggest twist.

I would describe this as his most subtle film, and also as more of a character study than a horror film.

Obviously your understanding of the word 'subtle' and the dictionary's understanding of the word differ somewhat.

The characters here are very rich

You know what I love, characters with cash to burn.

and their interactions and relationships with one another are very rewarding in big and small ways.

For us? Or for them? Because if they have rewarding relationships with each other that's all well and good, but what about us? Why don't we get rewarding relationships with anybody?

The acting is phenomenal, most noticeably by Academy Award winner Adrian Brody and Joaquin Phoenix. But first time actress Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter), William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver all give solid performances as well.

Phenomenal - highly extraordinary or prodigious.

Really?

"The Village" is a character study of how a community and individuals respond under pressure and fear. And while it has elements of horror, I'm not even sure I would describe it as a horror film.

I don't want to quote you to you, but "I would describe this as... more of a character study than a horror film."

Let me get this straight. You ... WOULD NOT describe this as a horror film, but as a CHARACTER STUDY? Hmmm, could you tell us again?

But don't get me wrong, there are some real scary moments in the film...

Wait, so are you saying you would describe it as more of a horror film than as a character study???

just don't go in expecting a roller coaster ride.

Oh, okay, so it's more of a horror film than a roller coaster ride...

While I was watching it, I kept thinking about some of the better episodes of The Twilight Zone that had a few thrills but left you thinking about human nature more than anything.

Wait, so you thought it was awesome, but old episodes of The Twilight Zone were better?

Go see "The Village", but bring someone with you.

Because when you go see Character Study's it's best to have somebody to hold your hand.

PD December 12th 2008