Village, The (1/11/2005)

PG-13 (for a scene of violence and frightening situations)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable)

Starring Juaquin Phoenix, Brendan Gleeson, Adrien Brody, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver

M. Night is the Hitchcock of the 21st Century. He doesn’t rely on special effects, he doesn’t depend on incredible creature effects—you rarely see what’s frightening you. He knows that our imagination can create far scarier scenarios than a guy in a hockey mask or some elaborate mechanical creature. And his films do just that- they allow your mind to scare you. The Sixth Sense not only fooled everyone with its huge twist at the end, it scared audiences so bad their distant relatives couldn’t sleep at night. Signs scared audiences out of their seats with aliens that you never really caught a good glimpse of. M. Night uses the same tactics that worked with The Blair Witch Project. Terrify your audiences with what “could be” out there.

More than just terror, M. Night cares about characters and story line. His films aren’t a bunch of teens (played by 25 year olds) going to camp getting hacked up by a slasher. He introduces you to real people with real problems and puts them in real frightening situations. In The Sixth Sense we grew to love young Cole, the fatherless child who attached himself to his “counselor” Malcolm (Bruce Willis). In Signs we fell in love with the Hess family as we witnessed Graham’s (Mel Gibson) struggle with his own faith after the loss of his wife. Like Hitchcock, M. Night’s films are much more than just attacking birds, they are about the people that are thrust into these situations and how they struggle to make it through.

Audiences are growing to love M. Night’s films. That’s why The Village brought in $50 million on the first weekend. USA TODAY reports that “this opening also cements Shyamalan's reputation as one of the most bankable directors in Hollywood. His four studio films — 1999's The Sixth Sense, 2000's Unbreakable, Signs and The Village— have averaged $42 million on opening weekend. Among directors with three or more films, that's second only to Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, whose movies open to an average of $46.9 million.”

But critics have different opinions on this film. According to MetaCritic.com, only 39% of the nation’s critics actually like this film. Some say it’s too slow. Some don’t like the premise. Roger Ebert literally mocks the film. I have to disagree.

The Plot
The film is about a small puritan town somewhere in the deep woods of Pennsylvania. It seems like their simple lives are perfect, until we hear the frightening sounds just beyond the border of the small village. We soon discover that there is a pact between the people of the village and the creatures who reside in the woods surrounding it: the villagers don’t enter the woods, and the creatures don’t enter the village. It’s that simple. But after several tragedies, Lucius Hunt (Juaquin Pheonix) asks to breech their borders to seek medical supplies from towns beyond the woods. Soon the village has no choice but to confront the horror that lies in the woods just outside its borders.

My 2 Cents
I’ll be honest- some people are not going to like this film. Some will find the film too slow. Others will struggle relating to this group of separatists with their strange customs and simple talk. Some critics have interpreted that as simply corny. It’s an easy film to take shots at.

I’ll be honest again. I really enjoyed the film. It was much different than M. Night’s earlier films and I can’t say that it will rank up there with Signs or The Sixth Sense in my book. But I enjoyed it in the same way that I enjoyed many of the old Twilight Zones. The film reminded me of the Twilight Zone “Five Characters in Search of an Exit” (December 22, 1961, Episode 79) mixed with a dash of The Blair Witch Project and a sprinkling of Witness.

Ron Howard’s Daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, made the film. She played Ivy, the blind daughter of one of the village’s elders (William Hurt). Ivy is not only funny and lovable, she has a courage and drive like that of Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) in Silence of the Lambs. Bryce’s performance was incredible.

And M. Night did his trademark “twist” at the end that brought it all together. The film had me still working out the details when I left the theatre.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Little kids, no. It’s a little too scary, there is one scene of violence, and mostly—they just won’t get it. I’ll let my 11 year old see it when it comes to video. The film has no language, no sexual situations, no nudity, no crude humor . . . where do you find that in a film today? It would be the perfect Halloween film for a youth group (it’s so clean) if it weren’t for the fact that all your kids who have been raised on slasher films will probably hate it.

Bottom Line
So if you’re a big M. Night fan or Twilight Zone fan, I think you’ll like The Village. If you prefer Rambo and Commando to Emma and Sense and Sensibility, then you might want to wait for the rental on this one. If you liked Freddy vs. Jason, skip this film . . . and seek help!

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

1. What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
2. How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
3. How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?