A small village in the 19th century has shut
itself off from the rest of the
world because of frightening
creatures that lurk in the woods
that encloses the village on all
sides, the villagers (led by
William Hurt as Edward Walker)
have spent years learning how to
keep the creatures at bay (for
instance they don’t like the
colour yellow but red attracts
“those we don't speak
of”) but when the creatures start to make their presence
felt in the village once more
and when Lucius Hunt (Pheonix)
is almost killed by one of the
creatures, his sweetheart, the
blind Ivy Walker (Howard) vows
to venture through the woods to
seek outside help…..
SO
IS IT ANY GOOD?
Shymalan gets better with every movie he makes, The
Village is a fantastic piece of movie making, intensely scary and full
of gothic atmosphere, the whole cast perform on a superbly understated
level, with Bryce Dallas Howard genuinely affecting in her movie debut.
The first appearance of “those we don’t speak of” will have you on
the edge of your seat as they steal through the shadowy night of the
village. At it’s heart though The Village is a romantic drama, with
love triangles all over the place, Lucius loves Ivy but so does village
idiot Noah (Adrien Wood) who turns dangerous when he releases his love
is not going to be reciprocated.
As with all M. Night Shymalan’s movies so far there
is a major reveal that completely turns the story on its head and being
a Shymalan you do find yourself waiting for it, not that we saw it
coming mind.
A beautifully shot movie (cinematography by Roger
Deakins) The Village is also a genuinely five star movie that is well
worth watching.
ANY
SPECIAL FEATURES?
Extras are plentiful and include a set of featurettes
(which are best watched together) called Deconstructing The Village
which provides plenty of background info on the making of the movie; a
few deleted scenes (all of which could have been in the movie) with
intros from Shymalan, a photo gallery and somewhat cheesy excerpts from
the on set diary of Bryce Dallas Howard.
